Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies

Really, we HAVE been cooking & baking since September. I know we have!! I keep forgetting to post. Here's the first recipe we tackeled at our house for the holidays. Please note that you have to press HARD to get these to look like squares & stars. The first tray I cooked looked like little circles & stars with puddles of jam on them. They still tasted great though. Thanks to Every Day Food for the recipe and a random blogger for the photo of nice cookies since mine didn't look that great!

8 oz bar cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups jam, jelly or perserves

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter & sugar until light & fluffy. With mixer on low, add flour & salt; beat until combined.

2. Divide dough into 3 portions: flatten each intio a disk. Roll each disk to an 1/8 inch thickness between sheets of parchment. Stack dough (still in parchment) on a baking sheet; refrigerate 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375. Mix egg yolk with 1/2 tsp water. Working with 1 dough sheet at a time, peel off parchment. With a 2 1/2 inch round or 2 inch star cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Spoon 1/2 tsp jam into center of each and brush exposed dough with egg wash. Shape cookies and arrange, 2 inches apart on parchement lined baking sheets.

4. Bake unti cookies are light & golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks.

SHAPING COOKIES: When using rounds of dough, firmly pinch edge or form 4 corners. If using star-shaped dough, fold points over to center and press lightly to seal.

Nutter Butters

Since I have been in Rome I have been dealing relatively well with change. However, I have not been adapting very well to not having peanut butter. Not only do I miss plain old peanut butter out of the jar, I also miss fancy peanut butter treats such as these delectable goodies. I made them for Ryan's graduation party and since then, I have been dreaming of devouring them again. Thus, I hope that someone will make them so that I can live vicariously through you. Enjoy.

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Jif

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
2½ cups quick-cooking oats

FOR THE FILLING:

¼ pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Jif

1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar.

1. For cookie dough: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice.

2. At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts and oats, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop 2 inches in diameter, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

3. For filling: using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth.

4. To assemble cookies, spread a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat.

Yield: 24 large cookies.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is a family favorite, especially with Iowa-grown (and maybe New York) corn. It is great with chips. Lee brought it to work for his birthday treat. Abby and I decided all posts needed pictures, so post one if you make this.

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans of white corn or fresh or frozen corn to taste
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can green chilies, chopped
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
2 bunches of green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup Italian dressing

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

In a quest to use up the peaches, I made a batch of these for the kids. It was a bit amusing trying to do it with my mini-prep food processor but I got the job done. It's made for an easy thing to throw at my kids at 6:30 when they demand breakfast. Oh and it says berries in the recipe but the peaches and blackberries worked just fine.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Crust and Topping:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
2 1/2 cups quick-cook oats
2 tablespoons apple or orange juice

Filling:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) fresh blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


1. Heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan.

2. Add the flour, light brown sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine, then add the butter and pulse five or six more times until coarse crumbs form. Add the oats and pulse two or three more times.

3. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and set it aside. Add the juice to the remaining mixture and pulse three or four times until it's just moistened. Press this mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan using your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup.

4. For the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Add the fruit and lemon juice and gently toss the mixture using a rubber spatula until the fruit is coated. Distribute the filling over the crust.

5. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the filling. Bake the dish until the top is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours, then cut the sheet into 16 bars. Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Joan's Easy Peach Cobbler

Missouri seems to have a slew of "pick your own" places with lovely offerings. Last week it was peaches. The biggest, juiciest, yummiest peaches I have ever had. They were so tasty that I had to bring home two boxes even though Paul won't touch them.

I've never done cobbler before but had to give it a try when my very pregnant friend Wendy said she'd be over to pick up half of whatever peach dessert I was making! I threw in a few fresh picked blueberries too and it was a hit!



Ingredients:

* 1/2 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted
* 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 to 4 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:
Heat oven to 375°.

Pour melted butter into a 2-quart baking dish (11x7 or 8-inch square). In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to blend. Stir in the milk and vanilla until blended. Pour the batter over the melted butter. Toss the peaches with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Arrange the peach slices over the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. The top will be browned and the cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Serve warm with a little heavy cream, whipped topping, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pizza!

I am still doing my best to tackle the weekly mix of veggies from our CSA box. The eggplant has been the most recent veggie that has been causing me problems. Last week I threw it in a stir fry and tonight in made it on a pizza. It was great! This crust recipe is one our family has been using for a while now. It is very "bread-like" so if you like crispy crust, this isn't for you. Honestly, it's great at my house because it's soft enough that the baby can actually chew it. I think Abby has a recipe for crispier crust. Maybe she'll post it!



Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs olive oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Allow to rest 5 minutes. Stir in whole wheat flour, surgar, salt, olive oil, & 1 cup white flour. Knead in remaining ingredients & remaining white flour by hand, about 5 minutes.

Spray a medium sized bowl with no-stick cooking spray. Place pizza dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes. Spray one 14 inch pizza pan or 2 10 inch pans to cooking spray. Stretch crust to fit pan and flute outer edges to hold fillings. Top as desired. Preheat oven to 425. Bake until cheese is melted & crust is browned.

You can top this with whatever tastes good to you. For the eggplant pizza I made tonight. Slice one small eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Place on foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt & brush with olive oil. Broil for 5 minutes, flip slices and broil for another five minutes. Use as you would any other pizza topping. I also added yellow tomato, onions, & nearly white bell pepper.

Gluten Free Smore

So Meagan doesn't post here much which is too bad because she makes some of the most interesting recipes, especially since she sticks to a gluten free diet. Anyway, this isn't a recipe but a nod toward her creativity. She wanted to enjoy smores with the rest of us around the campfire over the fourth but wasn't about to eat a graham cracker, so she pulled out her corn thins and slapped on the marshmallow & chocolate. I didn't try but she said it was good!

Summer Squash Casserole

So we are one month into our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) deliveries and I never want to see another yellow summer squash again! Too bad they are one of the few things that are thriving in our backyard garden. We mostly been eating it grilled and sauted and occasionally shredded and hidden in pasta but this week it was time for something new. I found a version of this recipe on a southern food website and modified it a bit with what I had in the house. It was a hit.



* 2 pounds yellow squash, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
* water
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 1 cup cornbread stuffing mix
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* extra cornbread stuffing mix to sprinkle on top

Preparation:
Place the squash, onion, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan. Add a small amount of water. Cover and cook the squash until tender, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary. Drain the squash and onions; return to the pan and stir in the butter. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper to your taste.

Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish well. Stir the stuffing mix into the squash mixture, and turn into the buttered casserole. Pour the milk over the squash and sprinkle with the cheese and stuffing mix. Bake at 350°, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the milk is absorbed and the squash casserole is bubbly. Serve hot. Serves 4 to 6.

Sweet Potato Zucchini Bread

Sounds lovely doesn't it! Well it did to me! I had zucchini to use and am forever trying to find ways to get miss picky-poo, Leah to eat more veggies. This recipe is a winner even though I didn't love the task of grating the zucchini and tater.

• 2 cups all purpose flour (I used part whole wheat)
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar (I used part brown & part white)
  
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (or more)
  
• 1 1/2 cups grated peeled sweet potato (or more)
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (I left these out)
  

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Beat sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla to blend in large bowl. Mix in zucchini and sweet potato. Add dry ingredients and walnuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around bread to loosen. Turn out onto rack and cool completely

I bet this would work just as fine with carrots in place of the sweet potato. Oh and stay tuned for more veggie recipes. We joined a CSA group and I have more veggies than I know what to do with!!!

Secret Spices

Every family has them, secrets! Here I am airing out a couple of family secrets on our blog!

The first is my favorite spice blend to put on EVERYTHING! Really, we put it on every thing we put on the grill! The real surprise is that it is awesome on fish. Just rub fish fillets with olive oil & a little lemon juice and give them a generous sprinkle of Texas Jalapeno Seasoning. Thanks to Cindy, my father-in-law's girlfriend, a Texas native, for turning us on to this one. And a funny story, we used to go to one of those "grill your own" steak places a lot and I would bring this along in my purse to put on my steak!

The second one is popular at mom and dad's and has just started to become a regular here. It comes from Curt at spiceguy.com up in Fish Creek, WI. I think mom and dad bought their original bottle while vacationing there. Good stuff, especially on scrambled eggs!

Surprise 30th Birthday Marinade

So this really isn't the name for this marinade. I have no idea what the name is. I gave it this name since it was the marinade used on the mountain of chicken Wendy made for my surprise 30th birthday party. It's good and I like anything that has less than 5 ingredients! (any spicy brown mustard tastes good in this!)

4 chicken breasts (cut in strips if kabobing)

1 packet good seasons dry Italian dressing

¼ c red wine vinegar

½ onion diced

¼ cup grey poupon mustard (add more if needed to thicken)

Mix in bowl and then pour over chicken and marinade.

Tequila Lime Chicken

Applebee's used to have this chicken on their menu and it used to be my favorite! I like it so much that I searched the internet to find the recipe. This is it. It's WAY to complicated for me and my husband swears he is "allergic" to tequila so I've made lots of modifications. Try it though it's good!

Here's my list of modifications
- I leave out the tequila in the marinade
- in the sauce, I skip the tomato, onion, vinegar & jalapeno and add two big spoons of jarred salsa instead.
- if I can't seem to find all the spices for the sauce I skip them. The important ones are the cumin and the dill.
- and I DON'T move these from the grill to the broiler. I just throw a piece of foil on the grill, put the chicken on it and then do the cheese & sauce.
- I rarely have chips around so there is no "bed of chips."
- If you have leftover sauce it's really good on veggies too.

Marinade

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon tequila

Chicken

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

Dressing

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (low fat ok)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (low fat ok)
• 1 tablespoon milk (low fat ok)
• 2 teaspoons minced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced canned jalapeno peppers
• 1 teaspoon minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1 dash garlic powder

Additional Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend
• 2 cups corn chips, crumbled

Directions

1. Combine marinade ingredients then chicken in a medium bowl and allow to marinade for 2-3 hours.

2. Combinine dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, cover, and chill until needed.

3. Grill the marinated chicken breasts for 3-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

4. Arrange the cooked chicken in a baking pan, brush with prepared mexi-ranch dressing, and sprinkle with cheese.

5. Broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes, or just until the cheese has melted.

6. Serve the chicken over a bed of crumbled chips.

Not Just for the Birds: Southwestern Millet

1 cup millet, thoroughly rinsed & strained
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth (homemade is best!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or chipotle pepper powder

Begin by combining vegetable broth and tomato paste in a small saucepan. Keep warm over low heat. Then combine the cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in a small bowl.

Heat olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan) in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt. Saute for 30 seconds and add millet. Toast millet with the onion & spice mixture for about 5 minutes until the millet is dry and fragrant. Pour in the vegetable broth and tomato paste mixture and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, cover and lower the heat. Simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork, and serve.

How to Enjoy Southwestern Millet

I like to make a pot of Southwestern Millet every week on Sunday or Monday and eat it throughout the week. It reheats well and makes a great accompaniment to many meals, such as steak or fish tacos, black bean burgers, and picadillo. Here is one of my favorite easy and cheap meals to make with Southwestern Millet:

Southwestern Millet and Eggs

Reheat millet (1/2 to 3/4 cup per person) in a skillet over medium heat; you can add a little olive oil or water to keep it from drying out. Push millet to one side of the pan, add olive oil or butter, and cook 1-2 eggs (free range folks!) over easy. Arrange millet in center of plate and top with eggs. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and a couple of spoonfuls of salsa--Frontera's Hot Chipotle is the best! To round out the meal, add tortilla chips, sweet potato fries, corn muffins, or sauteed greens.

Yes, millet is most commonly known as the primary ingredient in bird seed; however, this tiny grain is incredibly good for humans too! Millet is a great source of protein, is very easily digested, and is rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B6 and folic acid (listen up pregnant ladies!), calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.

This is recipe from Meagan.  I am not sure what sure what is more fun - eating this or saying it.  Anyway, it is good and looks pretty too.  I got the quinoa at the coop and at Trader Joe.

Quinoa  Timbales

3/4 cup quinoa (rinsed in a fine strainer)

1 TbL olive oil

1 red onion

3/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 ginger

1/4 tsp coriander

1/8 tsp tumeric

1/4 cup currants

1/4 cup cilantro

3 TBL slivered almonds

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Cook quinoa. Bring water to boil- add salt and quinoa.  Lower heat, cover pan and simmer until liquid is absorbed and spiral of corn is visible, 12-15 minutes Let stand 5 minutes 5 minutes.  Warm oil in skillet - add onion, spices, and several grinds of pepper.  Cook 10 minutes.  Drain quinoa.  Toss with with onion mixture and other stuff.

Easy Sticky Buns

So I really do know how to make sticky buns from scratch with yeast and whole works. I craved them when I was pregnant with Leah so I taught myself how. But really, when you are busy who wants to wait for bread to rise?? Now, you do have to wait for these to thaw and rise but they do it while you are sleeping!! Thanks to my friend Kara for the recipe! (on and if your kids avoid nuts like mine does, leave them out!

1 pkg. frozen dinner rolls (24-36 ct.)
1 sm. pkg. butterscotch pudding (NOT instant)
1 c. chopped pecans
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Generously butter 11X15 pan. Sprinkle with chopped pecans (or make 1/2 without nuts). Place frozen dinner rolls on pecans, leaving room to rise. Sprinkle with pudding mix. In saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until melted. Stir well and drizzle over frozen dinner rolls. Leave on counter overnight to allow rolls to thaw and rise. In the morning, bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Let set for 5 minutes before turning upside down on platter.

Rolled Omelet

This past weekend was Leah's third birthday! We celebrated the event with a birthday breakfast for her friends and their parents. This was one of many great recipes we made. Thanks to Everyday Food Magazine for putting it in their issue that came out right before the party! I made this 4 times over the weekend. Plain for the kids, with spinach for the grownups and with onions, peppers & asparagus for a treat!

• Olive oil, for pan
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 8 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar (6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly-roll pan with oil. Line bottom of pan with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the two shorter sides. Brush parchment with oil.

In a bowl, whisk together milk and flour. Add eggs, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper; whisk to combine. Pour into pan. Sprinkle spinach over top in an even layer.

Bake until edges of omelet are set, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar; bake until cheese has melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Beginning at one shorter end, lift parchment, and roll up omelet tightly, peeling back parchment as you go. Slice and serve.

Blueberry Muffins

Guess what I made for breakfast this morning! These are the best blueberry muffins EVER! The crumb topping is awesome and this is always a request of mine when I visit the homestead!

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups blueberries (I usually use frozen)
3 c flour
2 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 stick butter or margarine (softened)
2 eggs
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 T melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar, & baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in softened butter until mixture is in crumbs. Put 1 1/2 cups of this mixture in a small bowl and add melted butter and cinnamon to make crumbs for topping. Set aside. In the large bowl add milk, eggs & vanilla. Beat until smooth. Fold in blueberries. Fill 24 muffin cups with batter. Sprinkle each one with a generous amount of crumb topping. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350. Please note that the topping does not get brown so check for doneness.

Aunt Min's Carrot Cake

I made this carrot cake for Leah's first birthday and hope to make it again for her 3rd birthday next month! YUM!

AUNT MIN'S CARROT CAKE

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups oil
4 eggs beaten
3 cups grated carrots

Mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon & baking soda. Add oil, eggs, & carrots. Stir throughly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Grease and flour pans. (I usually use 2 round cake pans but you can make this in a 9x13 too) Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or longer for 9x13. Cool on rack. Frost when cool.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1/2 cup butter or margarine
8 oz (1 pkg) cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream together butter & cream cheese, gradually add powdered sugar & vanilla. Chopped pecans can also be added if desired.

Fried Apples

Most weekends Paul takes Leah out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel Restaurant. It's their "Daddy Date Day". The order the same thing every time. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and fried apples. Oh and a chocolate milk for Leah! Well I love the apples too and needed an easy recipe to use up all of the apples we picked at the apple orchard last fall!

2 cups apple juice plus 1/2 cup apple juice
4 large golden delicious apples, with peel, cut into 1/2 inch wedges.
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tsp apple pie spice
4 Tbs sugar

In a medium skillet, combine the 2 cups apple juice and sliced apples. Simmer gently until apples are fork tender but not mushy, turning apples frequently. Remove apples from juice using a slotted spoon and place in an oven safe dish. In a blender, combine the remaining 1/2 cup apple juice, cornstarch, apple pie spice and sugar. Blend a few seconds until smooth. Whisk mixture into hot apple juice in skillet and cook, stirring constantly on medium high heat until it bubbles and becomes thickened and smooth. Pour thickened mixture over apples and serve.

Feel free to use other types of apples or different spices. I don't have apple pie spice so I have substituted plain cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy the "nummy apples" as Leah calls them!

Italian Style Meatloaf

Okay, here's a relatively healthy one. It's modeled after a weight watches recipe my mom made but wasn't home to give to me so I guessed. Turned out fabulous!

Italian Style Meatloaf

1 lb ground turkey
5oz frozen chopped spinach
1 can mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 T's Italian seasoning
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 onion minced

Saute onion and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until onion is soft. Combine all ingredients. Put in loaf pan and bake at 375 for 60-70 minutes or until the center of loaf is 160 degrees. Slice and serve with your marina of choice. I topped ours with the following:

1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBS Italian Seasoning

Combined and simmered on the stove for 15 minutes.

This was met with rave reviews by both Paul and picky Leah.

Lido 14

Last week Leah and I made cupcakes. Not this recipe because we didn't have all the ingredients. I was reminded that this really is the best cupcake recipe EVER! I remember requesting it instead of cake for birthdays as a kid. I think it comes from a cookbook from Klemme, IA. I have no clue what the name means. I think it's because you add 14 ingredients?

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups water
2 Tbs. vinegar
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla

Sift dry ingredients together. Add liquids and stir well with a whisk. Prepare filling by combining ingredients.

Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
6 oz chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Line cupcake pan with papers. Fill cups half full with chocolate batter and add a large teaspoon of filling. Top with patter. Bake 30 minutes at 350. Tops can be dusted with powdered sugar if desired.

We have frosted these as well but it's not really necessary.

Tortilla Soup with Black Beans

a.k.a. Seven Can Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon chili powder (plus more for flavor)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 small white onion
1 can green chilies
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans- drained and rinsed
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes in juice - we used roasted garlic tomatoes
1 can chili beans (15 oz.) drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) chicken broth
1 package (10 oz.) frozen corn kernels
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
several dashes of hot sauce

For Serving:
* tortilla chips
* lime wedges
* cheddar cheese



Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook garlic, chili powder, cayenne powder, and onion until fragrant, about one minute. Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn, green chilies, and 1 cup water. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

Bring soup to a boil; reduce to a simmer for about two minutes. Remove from heat; add lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with lime wedges, and crushed tortilla chips, and cheddar cheese.

Christmas- Stuffed Mushrooms, Scallops, & Molten Chocolate Cake

No one stepped up to the plate and did a post with the recipes from our traditional Christmas dinner at the Luhrs house. I don't have mom's recipes so I can't take charge on that one. I did make a dinner at our house though. Seafood became our tradition the year we pigged out on crab cakes in Baltimore. I won't include the crab cake recipe in the post because this year I cheated and bought frozen ones.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS (from the Gooseberry Patch Family & Friends Cookbook)
24 large mushrooms
1/2 c parsley, chopped
1/2 c thyme
3/4 c butter, divided
16 bacon slices, crisply cooked & crumbled
8oz package cream cheese, softened
2 oz fresh Parmesean cheese, grated & divided

Rinse and pat dry mushrooms. Remove stems & finely chop. Set caps aside. In a medium skillet, saute mushroom stems, parsley, green onion, & thyme with 1/2 c butter. In a a large bowl, combine bacon, ceram cheese & half of the Parmesean cheese. Add sauteed mixture and stir well. Brush mushroom caps with melted butter on both sides. Arrange caps, hollow side up, in oven-proof dish. Fill caps with stuffing and sprinkle the reserved Parmesean cheese on top. Broil 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through.

BAKED SCALLOPS
This is sort of a mishmash of several recipes in an attempt to emulate the fabulous scallops served by the Avenue Lounge Supper Club in Wausau, WI.

10-14 large scallops (depending on size)
3/4 cup bread crumbs
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp parsley flakes or the real stuff if you have it
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lowry's seasoning salt
1/2 cup melted butter

Place scallops in a casserole dish. Cover with melted butter & turn to coat. Combine all other ingredients and sprinkle over scallops to cover. Bake at 425 10-15 mintues until scallops are cooked through.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKES
Serves 2 but can be doubled or tripled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for ramekins
1/3 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for ramekins and serving
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
Pinch salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter two 6-ounce ramekins, then dust with sugar. Place butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 20-second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolk, sugar, espresso powder, and salt. Add chocolate mixture; whisk to combine. Add flour, and whisk just until combined (do not overmix). Pour batter into prepared ramekins. (Recipe can be made ahead up to this point.)
Bake until a toothpick inserted 1/2 inch from edge of ramekins comes out clean, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out wet, 10 to 12 minutes (do not overbake). Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife around inside of ramekins to loosen. Invert cakes onto serving plates. Dust with sugar; serve immediately.

NOTE: I don't own ramekins. I make this in pyrex custard dishes. It can also be baked in muffin tins.