Perfectly Soft Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
5 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  1. In mixer, cream butter and sugar, and then add eggs and vanilla. Add sour cream.
  2. In separate bowl combine salt, baking soda, and flour, then add to mixture.
  3. Roll out on floured surface to about  1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. ** see Notes
  4. Use a spatula to carefully slide under each cookie and place onto greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets.
  5. Bake for 7-8 minutes.  THEY WILL NOT LOOK DONE!  But don’t give in to your temptation to cook “just a little bit longer” or you will get crunchy cookies instead of soft, pillow-like cookies. If you have a golden brown color along the edges then you have baked them too long.
  6. Wait about 5 minutes and then transfer carefully to a cooling rack. If you wait longer they will get soggy on the bottom and sometimes get stuck to the parchment paper. Once they are cooled they are ready for frosting

Here is a simple buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4-1/3 cup milk

**Notes and images for rolling out dough taken from glorioustreats.blogspot.com

ImageThese are paint stir sticks (available for free from the paint department of any hardware store). There is a product on the market called Perfection sticks, which are sticks that usually come in a set of a couple different thicknesses. They are designed to help you roll out the dough in a nice even thickness. Since I don’t own Perfection sticks, I just glued two paint stir sticks together, which makes about the perfect thickness for sugar cookies. (So you need 4 sticks total, since you need a double thick stick for each side of your dough.) If I want the dough a bit thinner, I just roll out the dough to the thickness of the sticks, then remove the sticks and roll just a bit thinner.

ImagePlace a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. This helps you roll out the dough without adding additional flour (adding too much flour can make the dough a bit tough, and can create little pockets of flour in the dough that cause bumps to form on your cookies during baking, making it more difficult to decorate later).

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by twizlstick on January 30, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on January 30, 2012

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Easy Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken

Melt 1 cube butter in fry pan.

Layer on 4 Chicken Breasts, or Chicken Tenders.

Sprinkle with 1 pkg. Italian Seasonings Salad Dressing Mix

Add juice of 2 lemons.

Cook until tender. Put the lid on at first, then take off at the end in order to brown and absorb seasonings.

Can be done in crock pot. (For chicken breast:  Cook on Hi: 4-5 hours, on Low:  6-8 hours.  When finished cooking, take out, shred chicken with 2 forks, and ladle on the juices.

Crock Pot method:

Put cube of butter in bottom of crock pot. Lay chicken in pot. Sprinkle dressing over chicken, drizzle with lemon juice, pop the lid on. Chicken breast:  Cook on Hi  4-5 hours, or Low – 6-8 hours.

Take  the chicken out, shred with 2 forks, then ladle some of the juice over your shredded chicken. It will soak it up, and make it sooo juicy.

*Recipe from http://www.thequeenbeeshive.com/?p=2173

 

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by twizlstick on January 11, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on January 11, 2012

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Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)
Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it made the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

*Recipe from http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/09/crispy-southwest-chicken-wraps.html

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by twizlstick on January 11, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on January 11, 2012

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No Bake Cookies

A favorite late-night treat! (Could this explain why our diet goals are hard to reach??)

2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
3 cups oats (quick or regular)

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cocoa, milk  and margarine.
  2. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  3. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
  4. Stir in vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oats.
  5. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper.
  6. Allow cookies to cool for at least 1 hour.
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by twiz on September 28, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by twiz on September 28, 2009

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Creamy Chicken Casserole

This is a yummy recipe that makes a lot without too much effort. I have made this a couple times at the date of this post, and prefer to make the cream mixture and just pour it over the pasta, rather than combine the pasta with the cream mixture. That way if I have extra sauce, I can freeze it for later (since you can’t freeze cooked pasta!). This recipe could also be served over rice instead of noodles.

4-5 chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil (or garlic flavored oil, if you want extra flavor)
2 cups sour cream
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
salt & pepper to taste (we happen to like lots of salt & pepper)
2 1/2 cups frozen vegetables** (any kind; I use the carrots/corn/peas/green beans mix)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 oz. noodles, cooked & drained
**Cook frozen vegetables before adding to the creamy mixture.

To cook the chicken:

  1. Heat 5-liter waffle bottom pressure cooker until drops of water roll into balls.
  2. Place boneless skinless chicken breast in pan.
  3. Fry on medium heat until chicken releases itself from the bottom of the pan.
  4. Turn over with a pigtail.
  5. Brown second side for 1 to 2 minutes.
  6. Add oil and onion. Saute until onion is translucent.
  7. Place lid on cooker. Bring to the second red ring and maintain for 5 minutes.
  8. Drop pressue with cold water on the rim of the pan.
  9. Shred the hot chicken in the Bosch with the wire whips (make sure the chicken is hot and don’t do too much at one time! The bowl and whips can break!!)

Cream mixture

  1. Mix together sour cream, sour cream, soup, cooked vegetables, and cheese.
  2. Add this mixture to the pressure cooker with shredded chicken & onions.
  3. Simmer with glass lid on until vegetables are tender.
  4. Add noodles. Mix gently and serve.

Source:  Shar Lomax

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by twiz on September 28, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by twiz on September 28, 2009

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Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade

Summertime is here and it’s time to cool off with a refreshing drink.

1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon extract (*optional)
4 cups ice water

  1. In small saucepan, make a syrup by adding water and sugar. Stir on medium low heat until sugar dissolves completely. Cool.
  2. In a large pitcher, combine syrup and lemon juice.
  3. Add ice water water to pitcher and stir well. Serve immediately.

Source: e-How.com

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by twizlstick on July 5, 2009  •  Permalink
Posted in Appetizers & Beverages, Cold Beverages
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Posted by twizlstick on July 5, 2009

http://goodlookincookin.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/fresh-squeezed-lemonade/

Bestest Chili-Bacon Beans

Great side dish for a BBQ (like we just had today!).  And of course, anything with bacon captures my heart :)   Makes enough for a crowd!  I doubled this recipe recently, and would probably do a little *less* bacon next time (GASP!).  But even with 20 people, I had tons of leftovers for a week. I’ll stick with a single batch next time, and when it’s gone — it’s gone!

1 large can (28oz) Bush baked beans (or 2 regular 16oz cans)
1 small can butter beans
1 small can kidney beans
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tblsp. vinegar
3 Tblsp. hickory smoke flavor (“Liquid Smoke”)
1 lb. bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces and fried
1 lb. ground beef, cooked & drained
1/2 cup onion, diced and browned

  1. Cook bacon on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Broil until crisp.  Dry on paper towels (Or fry bacon in a pan and drain grease.  I just find the cookie sheet method less messy and faster).
  2. Cook onion & ground beef together.  Drain grease.
  3. Add all ingredients together and

    4. a) bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes OR

    b) combine all in a crockpot, put on low, and cook for 2-3 hours.

Source: Debbie Van Dusen

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by twizlstick on July 5, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on July 5, 2009

http://goodlookincookin.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/bestest-chili-bacon-beans/

Apple Goody (aka Apple Crisp)

A classic apple dessert – similar to apple pie, but with a yummy crumble topping made of oatmeal & brown sugar (among other things).

FILLING:

6 to 8 tart apples (I like to use Fuji though)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tblsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

  1. Slice apples as for pie.
  2. Mix with rest of ingredients.
  3. Place in 9″ x 12″ baking dish.
  4. Cover with following topping:

TOPPING: (which I always double for extra goody-ness)

3/4 cup oatmeal (1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup flour (1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup brown sugar (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (1/2 tsp.)
1/4 tsp. baking powder (1/2 tsp.)
1/2 cup melted butter (1 cup or 2 cubes)
1 cup chopped walnuts (I don’t double this)

  1. Mix all together, adding the butter last. Stir until well incorporated.
  2. Spread on top of apple filling.
  3. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 Degrees.
  4. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream

Source: Leta Smith

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by twizlstick on July 5, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on July 5, 2009

http://goodlookincookin.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/apple-goody-aka-apple-crisp/

Gramma Green’s Homemade Ice Cream

A delicious treat for any celebration.  Can have several fruit variations, as well as yummy vanilla.

2 eggs (beat well)
2 1/4 cup sugar
1 pint whipping cream
2 quarts (8 cups) milk  (use whole milk if wanted)
1/2 tsp. salt
*2 Tblsp. vanilla (only if you are having vanilla ice cream)

  1. Beat eggs in large saucepan.
  2. Add sugar, 1 qt (4 cups) milk, cream, and salt.
  3. Cook on stove until lukewarm and sugar is dissolved.
  4. Add rest of milk to fill ice cream freezer

VARIATIONS:

Strawberry, Peach or Apricot

  1. Add an additional 1 cup of sugar and delete the vanilla.
  2. In blender, add 2 cups of fruit and 3/4 cup lemon juice; blend.
  3. Add fruit flavoring to ice cream after it has started to set and gets a little hard to turn.
  4. Mix well, and continue freezing until very hard.

Lemon

  1. Add an additional 1 cup of sugar and juice of 5 or 6 large lemons.
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by twizlstick on July 5, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on July 5, 2009

http://goodlookincookin.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/gramma-greens-homemade-ice-cream/

Creamy Sweet Rice Pudding

Mmmm… a yummy comfort food with flavors of real vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, orange, fresh nutmeg and cranberries.  This is made in a pressure cooker.

1 cup white basmati rice
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp. orange oil (optional)
1 (2 inch) piece of orange pee
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 whole vanilla bean (optional)
3/4 cup half and half
3 large egg yokes
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tsp. vanilla

  1. In a waffle bottom pressure cooker, add rice, water, orange oil, orange peel, cinnamon stick, salt, nutmeg and vanilla bean. Bring mixture to a boil, secure lid.
  2. Bring to the second red ring of pressure cooker and maintain pressure for 3-5 minutes. Drop pressure under cold water around the outer rim only. Remove lid.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together half & half with egg yolks.
  4. Add butter, honey, sugar and egg mixture to the rice in pressure cooker.  Stir gently.
  5. Remove cinnamon stick, orange peel and vanilla bean
  6. Continue to cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes (cooking the eggs) until mixture comes to a simmer; stir constantly.
  7. Stir in cranberries and vanilla.
  8. Spoon pudding into individual dishes and enjoy!

*Note: you can try something new by adding almond extract, maple extract, etc.

Source:  Shar Lomax

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by twizlstick on March 29, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by twizlstick on March 29, 2009

http://goodlookincookin.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/creamy-sweet-rice-pudding/

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