Mexican Wedding Cookies

I don't have pics of this one... but they're delicious and easy to make!

Mexican Wedding Cookies
adapted from Kraft Foods

1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup finely chopped nuts (I love pecans!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla until well blended. Add in flour and baking soda. Incorporate nuts and cinnamon. Shape into balls or crescent shapes and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute prior to removal. Cool for 15 minutes on cooling rack; dunk each cookie in powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Dolly Bars

Dolly Bars

Melt one stick margarine or butter in the bottom of a 9x9 pan. Sprinkle 1 cup graham cracker crumbs over melted margarine. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips over crumbs. Sprinkle 1 cup shredded coconut over chocolate chips. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped nuts over coconut. Pour 1 can sweetened condensed milk over the whole mess. Do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

These are super rich!

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Spudnuts

Okay, before any dies of shock (since I'm actually posting again), please accept my apology. It's not that I haven't cooked or baked since October... I just haven't posted.
With hope, this recipe will make up for it.

Is this thing on? Is anyone there?

Buttermilk Spudnuts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup really warm water
1 1/2 cups warm buttermilk
4 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mashed potatoes (I usually use instant)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
6-7 1/2 cups flour

Instructions:
Pour water and buttermilk into a bowl; sprinkle yeast into the liquid and ignore it for about 5 minutes. Don't worry, it won't mind. In a separate bowl beat the butter until it's good and soft. Blend the sugar, potatoes, salt and nutmeg into the butter until all ingredients are nice and smooth. Add the eggs to this concoction. Cut 6 cups flour into the gooey mess. Stir in the yeasty buttermilk/water mixture, and go to town blending. The dough should be a little more sticky than bread dough, but not as stiff. Add more flour, if needed, 1/2 cup at a time. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
Roll out dough onto floured surface to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Let rise for about 45 minutes (the dough should just about double in size). Cut into desired shapes... I prefer cutting them into 1 inch by 3 inch strips because they cook very evenly and are just the right size for my kids. Fry in hot canola or vegetable oil about 1-1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer cooked donut onto paper towels so all the excess oil will soak into the towels rather than into your thighs. Glaze while still warm and enjoy! This recipe makes a whole bunch of donuts, so invite some friends over for the fun!

Glaze:
1 package powdered sugar (2 lbs.)
1/2-1 cup liquid of choice (milk, buttermilk, orange juice, milk and maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix until desired consistency. I add about 1/2 cup liquid at a time. Generally speaking, I will make half of the glaze just a regular vanilla and the other half a flavored king (like maple syrup flavor). My kids really like the variety. Use any left over glaze for your extra dipping pleasure.

Simple Beef Stew

Autumn time has to be my favorite season for food. I love using freshly harvested vegetables, and this has got to be one of my family's all time favorites: beef stew.

Let's get cooking!

First, fill a large pot 1/2 way with water. Salt the water, put the lid on the pot, and turn the temperature to high.
Then, cut about 8 cups of hard veggies into bite size chunks. These are peeled carrots, small red potatoes, and small russet potatoes from our garden.

Once the water is boiling, add the hard veggies to it; replace the lid.
In a separate pot, place 1 pound ground beef. I seasoned it today with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Brown the gound beef, drain off the fat, and add to the veggies in the large pot.

Next, cut up about 1 cup onion. This is a red onion, again from the garden. Red onions have a really great flavor and add just enough color to make this dish really pretty. Whatever kind of onion you have on hand should be just fine.This is a good time to add the onions, too.

Now I add 4 cups broccoli flourettes,

and 2 cups whole mushrooms. (My family doesn't particularly care for mushrooms, but they add a nice flavor to the stew. By keeping them whole, they are easily removed.)

Here comes the trick... remove about 1 cup of water from the pot. One tablespoon at a time, mix in corn starch to the removed water until a paste is formed. Using a whisk, slowly add the paste to the soup to thicken it up.

When it comes to seasoning the stew, I cheat. For some reason my stew is always too salty or bland if I make up my own seasoning, so I use a whole box (2 small packages) onion soup mix. Yeah, I do.

Now let the concoction simmer for about 20-30 minutes while you paint your nails, chat with your friend, or (in my case) make some biscuits to go with the stew. Every so often, stir the stew.

When you're about 5 minutes away from serving, add 1/2 bag frozen corn and let it all simmer together.

Serve with a smile knowing you've just made a scrumptious meal for your family.

Bran Muffins

It's no secret: I love food. I love autumn, too, for the food. Okay, I love other things about the season, too... but the food is awesome. One of my favorite food moments concerning autumn is that my kids actually want to eat something other than cold cereal for breakfast. Enter Bran Muffins! This recipe is easy and convenient. Just bake up as many muffins as you like and store the remaining batter in your fridge. Done and done.

Let's get cooking!

To a large bowl add one whole box of All Bran Cereal. It should be 6 cups.
Pour over the top of the cereal 2 cups boiling water. The water will soften up the cereal.

After a few minutes, pour 1 quart buttermilk over the cereal. Stir until it's all mushy and gross looking.

Cream together in a separate bowl 5 eggs, 1 cup shortening and 2 cups sugar.

Add to the cereal mixture.

Sift (or just toss into...) the cereal mixture 5 cups flour,

5 teaspoons baking soda,

and 1 tablespoon salt.

Stir until well blended.

Bake as much as you'd like in prepared muffin tins for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Store whatever batter you don't use in fridge for up to 30 days.

By the way... it's also delcious to add nuts, raisins, or dates to the batter prior to baking! My family's favorite it to serve these with apricot jam.

Lemon Zucchini Cookies

My Grandma Smith was the best baker I've ever met. She was fabulous, fun, and all sorts of wonderful. I got this recipe out of her collection, and thought I'd be nice enough to share it with you. I know; I'm nice that way.

Lemon Zucchini Cookies
3/4 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar
1 egg

1 teaspoon or more grated lemon peel

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Lemon Frosting:

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup powdered sugar

In large bowl or mixer cream butter and sugar until light.

Beat in egg and peel until fluffy at low speed or with rubber scraper. 

 Sift or stir flour, baking powder, and salt together.

 

 Gradually add to creamed mixture and blend. Stir in zucchini and nuts.

 

Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Make frosting by beating together the lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Cool and enjoy!

Mini Meat Loaf

It always cracks me up when someone thinks I'm some mega chef: I simply am not! The biggest reason my family generally has a home cooked meal is because it's frugal. I don't generally spend a lot of time fixing dinner, but a nice dinner doesn't have to take a lot of time to prepare! This recipe came about when I was experimenting with meat loaf recipes... trying to scale them back and simplify the process. A success was born! Feel free to be creative with this recipe and add your own touch. It's not unheard of for me to add a carrot or two, finely shredded, in with the meat. What they don't know won't hurt them! Oh, and I double the recipe for my family. These make great left overs/snacks!

Enjoy!

Mini Meat Loaves

1 lb. ground beef, ground turkey, or a mixture of both
1/4 c. Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
ketchup or bbq sauce to taste
3 sticks string cheese

Mix ground meat, bread crumbs, and egg until very well blended. Shape into approx. 1/3 cup size balls. Place in sprayed cupcake tins. Top with a little bit of ketchup or sauce. Cut string cheese sticks into 3 pieces each. Put one chunk of cheese in the middle of each mini meat loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until no longer pink.