It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Part 2

An old time favorite: Italian Meatball Cookies

Chocolate, Spicy, Coffee Deliciousness, not to mention the batch makes a ton and they freeze really well!!

Mix together
1 cup of milk
1 cup of shortening
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Add 3 cups of flour
5 tsp of baking powder
1 Tbl of cinnamon
1 Tbl of nutmeg
3/4 cup of cocoa
Slowly add 2 more cups of flour followed by 1 cup of nuts (preferably walnuts) and 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes.

Frosting
3 cup of confectionery sugar
3 Tbls of cocoa
1/4 cup softened butter
2 Tbl hot coffee
1 tsp vanilla
Blend together

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Part 1

That time of year of course is Christmas cookie baking season!! In honor of the season, I will share with you some of my most favorite (and may I add famous!) holiday cookie recipes. I promise these will be better than the 12 days of Cookies featured in the paper that in an effort to be creative end of being not so tasty/sugary/fatty as a Christmas cookie truly should be (Meringues and Sesame Seed Cookies.. I mean seriously??).  I will start first with some easy peasy bar cookies. Bar cookies are the boss because a) they are easy b) they make a lot c) they freeze really well d) they're awesome!

An old standby.. Lemon Bars because you know what they say.. When life gives you lemons, make cookies!


Mix together 1 cup of butter (softened), 1/2 cup of confectionery sugar, 2 cups of flour. Press dough into the bottom of a 13x9 pan and fork some holes in it. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until browned.
Beat together 2 cups of sugar and 4 eggs until blended well. Add 1 tsp of baking powder, 2 tsps of lemon peel and the juice of a lemon and a half or 2 if you're feeling crazy. Mix thoroughly. Pour over hot crust. Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until set. Sprinkle the top with more powdered sugar and slice into squares when cool!

George Bailey Bars because he deserves his own cookie.
This recipe can be used to fit the needs of any ingredients.
Start with this base. Mix 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 3 eggs, 2 tsp of vanilla. Blend well. Add 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of salt.
From here you can go nuts! I will share what I did last time I made these.. it was pretty grand.
Layer 13x9 pan with graham cracker crumbs. Layer with butterscotch chips. Add base mixture. Layer chopped pecans. Top with coconut (say brainless don't you know where coconuts come from!!(hence the name of this recipe)).

I have also made these using walnuts instead of pecans. Added chocolate chips instead of butterscotch or done both (so choice). Omitted graham crumbs. Basically throw what ever yummies you have in with this base and the results will be pleasing.
Oh.. and you need to bake them at 350 for about 18 minutes.

So get going! Bake some cookies and share your recipes with us! Please and thank you!

Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch

If you hear the word paw paw and immediately think it is some nonsensical fairy tale food or a child's name for a papaya, you are not alone.. but you are wrong. Many only know of paw paws from the old children's song, Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch.  Although unheard of by many, paw paws do exist and grow right down the street from me in good old Rochester, NY, which was how I ended up with some paw paws in my possession. When my neighbor left a bag of paw paws hanging on my doorstep, I was not quite sure what to do with them. With a quick Google search, I learned many interesting factoids about paw paws: they are native to North America; they are sometimes called the West Virginia banana; they are Ohio's native state fruit; and there are all sorts of Paw Paw festivals! I also found recipes for pies, breads, muffins, puddings and even wines using paw paws. Who knew?
So I set out to make a Paw Paw Pie
Paw paws start out green and turn yellow and then brown as they ripen. They are actually best when they outside looks like a brown rotten banana oddly enough.

Inside they have beautiful yellow flesh that tastes very sweet and similar to a banana. They also have little black seeds which can be a bugger to take out. But persist on, it is worth it!

Once you have peeled the paw paw and removed the seeds you are ready to make yourself a pie.
I used a graham cracker crust in mine but you can make a regular pastry crust as well.

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 3 egg yolks, 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of pureed paw paws. Cook slowly until thickened about 5-10 minutes. I added 1/2 cup of toasted coconut here to add a tropical flavor (this step is optional) Pour custard into your pie crust.
Take egg whites, 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar, 3 Tbl of sugar and beat into a meringue. When peaks form pour meringue on top of the paw paw custard. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until peaks are browned.

While We're Talking Cauliflower...

Those purple cauliflower frozen florets previously mentioned were originally purchased to make this tasty dish, also a creamy delicious pasta spectacular. Make one or both!


Cauliflower Bagna Cauda Sauce
Simmer 1 head of garlic in water for about 20 minutes.
Cook 1 lb of fettucine in salted water until al dente.
Break cauliflower into florets. Steam in a large pan until tender.
In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add 2 tins of anchovies. Stir until they break apart into the oil. Add mashed garlic, 3 Tbls of butter, 1 pint of cream or half and half, salt and pepper.
Toss the sauce, pasta and cauliflower together. Add some fresh parsley.

Eat up!

Creamy Chicken Cauliflower Lasagna Stylee

There are days when I look through my fridge, cupboards,  and freezer and find all sorts of random food items, bits and pieces of saved things that do not seem to go together in any appropriate fashion. In order to eliminate waste and to avoid grocery shopping, I try to mix up something creative with these items and create something spectacular (which sometimes does or doesn't happen). This happened to me last night.
Random Food Items
Half a box of lasagna noodles
2 Frozen chicken breasts
Frozen bag of purple cauliflower
1/4 bottle of Imagine Moore gratitude
Tupperware full of random blocks of Yancey Fancy cheese

Magical Dish- Creamy Lasagna!
In a pot of salted water, cook lasagna noodles.
In a large skillet, saute an onion in a bit of olive oil. Chop up chicken bits and cook until browned. Add chopped up purple cauliflower and 1/4 cup of white wine, salt and pepper to taste. Steam cauliflower til tender.

Drain lasagna noodles. In pot, melt 1 Tbl of butter and saute a few cloves of garlic. I added a ice cube size hunk of pesto (another random freezer item) but you could add dried basil if you choose. Add 1/2 cup of milk (if you have cream or half&half, this would prob be more delish). Bring to a simmer. Add 3 Tbl of flour. Cook til thickened. Add some shredded cheese to sauce. Add chicken/cauliflower mixture.

Layer noodles, CreamyCC mix and shredded cheese about 3 times in that fabulous order. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top. Serve with the rest of that leftover wine.
...and you know what they say, "Lasagna is always better as leftovers." This is true. I'm eating the leftovers right now.

homemade yogies

I had been meaning to try homemade yogurt for maybe a year or so, because we eat a lot of it around here and the good stuff -- the greek stuff! -- is expensive. It is unbelievably easy and you don't need a fancy yogurt maker.. just a crock pot.

to start - you need one cup of plain yogurt with live active cultures, and one half gallon of milk. my first try, I used regular vitamin d milk. you know, the kind in the front of veg-mans (I say that with a heavy german accent all of the time). I've read the less pasteurized and the more whole the betta.

if you start this at 4pm-ish, you can leave it overnight and wake up to morning yogurt numminess. put your milk in your pot de la crock and turn it on LOW for 2.5 hours. after that, shut the crockpot off and leave it, covered, for another 3 hours. after the 3 hours, stir in the cup of yogurt (once you have some made you can use that as the starter) until there's no more lumpies in your lovely lady humps. unplug your CP -- swaddle it in a large towel (to help it maintain as much heat as possible overnight) and leave it alone for 8ish hours. I put it in my oven so that nothing would disturb it overnight, such as a random cat or a ninja. hey, just playing it safe, you never know.

in the morning, you will have thick yummy yogurt! if you like it thicker (insert inappropriate weiner comment), let it strain in the fridge for the day. line a strainer with cheesecloth or coffee filters (<-- classy) and put it in a bowl and the whey will drain out after a few hours.

we've been mixing it with a spoonfuls of strawberry or blackberry jam and honey, but I want to whip up some lemon curd so I can mix that with some blueberries frozen from the summer!

creamychickenpiccatapastaaaaaaa

I have had a long, long, long love affair with capers and any recipe that includes them is on my to-try-yesterday-girlfrienddd list (which is a serious list to be on, fyi). chicken piccata is perfection in my book and I came across a recipe that layered the picatta with pasta and cream. I mean, all it needs is bacon (I left that out but reading Col's bacon posts make me think that it would be a great idea for next time). it also is a recipe in which to use your lemon reamer. I mean, c'mon.

for da chicken:

juice of one lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp basil or oregano

salt n' peppa, to taste

2 chicken breasts

for da pasta:

2 c. dried penne

2 tbsp butter

juice of 2 lemons

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 c. half and half or heavy cream, your choice! tough decision, I know.

2 tsp dried basil

2 tbsp capers (I used about a half a jar. 2 tbsp... clearly not enough.)

1/2 c. grated parm cheezzzee

combine the first "for da chicken" ingredients to form a marinade - marinade the chicken overnight, or maybe just for a few hours if you forgot to do that overnight step (which I did. it's okay. we're only human).

grill chicken until done and slice into strips to serve over pasta.

while the chicken is grilling, cook the pasta! drain it out of the pan when done to your liking. reserve a half a cup of the pasta water to use to loosen up the sauce you are about to make, if necessary. in the pan, melt the butter, add the garlic, and add the lemon juice. pour in the half and half slowly and whisk it until it's all hot and smelling good. add the salt and pepper if you want, then add the cheese, basil and capers and heat it all up until everything is melted and nice and saucy. add the pasta and the sliced chicken. bonus points if you add bacon!