Sugar Cookies

This sugar cookie recipe is my favorite because it is perfect for cut-outs. I use it for every holiday. Sugar cookies can be pretty bland and that's why they are usually covered in icing, but I am not a fan of icing on cookies (and scrape it off whenever I find it) so the cookies have to taste good. These are amazing. Very flavorful and just the right balance of soft and chewy with crisp edges. But my very favorite quality of these cookies is that you can get away with using 100% whole wheat and they still taste sinful. Of course, if you want to use 100% all-purpose flour, that's awesome, too. :)

You will need:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (I use Smart Balance sticks, of course)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour (I used white whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
food coloring (optional)



Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until it lightens in color. About one minute.



Add egg, vanilla, and food coloring if you want. I used a rose color and hit it with about 4 drops.



Add half the flour, the baking powder, and the baking soda. Mix and then add the rest of the flour. (My dough was a pretty dusty rose color but I wanted it a bit darker, so I hit the dough with a few more drops of color.)



(If you don't want to cut the dough into shapes then roll the dough into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar, place on your greased baking sheet, and flatten slightly.)


For cut-outs, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes.



Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into desired shapes. I cut my dough into hearts, X's and O's for Valentine's Day. Tink asked if we could play tic-tac-toe. :)



Place cookies on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Since I don't add icing I pressed a little bit of colored sugar into each cookie. Bake for 14 minutes. They will still be a little soft in the middle when they come out.





A delicious holiday treat!! If you use whole wheat then you should probably eat twice as many cookies so that you make your daily whole grain allowance. :)






Enjoy!!

Blackberry Pork Loin

We have pork loins for dinner pretty often. They are cheap (less than $8 and there is usually a $1 off coupon in Sunday's paper), easy, and super tasty. You can buy them in different flavors, but I buy the unflavored or original. And I always rinse it before adding my own seasonings. This flavor combination might sound a little strange, but trust me--it is amazing! Bubba and the girls said it was my best pork loin ever. Not a single scrap was left. I found the recipe on smuckers.com but changed it up a bit.

You will need:

1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam
3T BBQ sauce
1tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt



Put the blackberry jam in a bowl and zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. You could skip this step, but I've found that the jam is easier to mix up if its not super cold from the fridge. Then add the BBQ sauce and seasoned salt...



and whisk together.



Place the washed pork loin in a Ziploc bag and pour the sauce over the top. Marinate for at least an hour. I usually prepare the pork loin in the morning, so it marinates for about 6 hours.



An hour before you are ready to eat preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 inch baking dish with foil. Pour the pork and sauce into the dish and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the pork reaches 160 degrees.



Let it sit for 15 minutes and then slice.





When plating, pour a little bit of sauce over each serving.



Absolutely delicious!! I served it with green peas and vegetable pasta with Parmesan. This pork is succulent and flavorful that it would be the perfect dish to impress company. Everyone will think you slaved away!


Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLIV

I apologize for not posting step-by-step directions to this recipe, but I only make it on Super Bowl Sunday and didn't want to post it after the big game. This recipe is the perfect side dish at a party or for just pigging out at home, but it is definitely not a recipe you want to make more than once a year because it will take you at least a month to get your diet back under control. :) Just kidding. But it is super indulgent. Charlie Gibson's Enchilada Casserole. We call it Doritos Casserole and it is soooo good. I've been making it every year since 2002.

Casserole Ingredients:
1 large 13-ounce package Doritos (save 2 cups for casserole topping)
2 tbsp. onion, grated
1 10-ounce can chili with beans
10- to 15-ounce enchilada sauce
8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 and 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Topping Ingredients:

2 cups Doritos
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1¼ cups sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Crumble 6 cups Doritos with your hands into a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the onion, the chili, the enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and 1½ cups of cheddar cheese to the crumbled Doritos. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Place mixture into an 8½ x 11-inch oven proof casserole dish.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven. Spread the sour cream over the top of the casserole with a large spoon or rubber spatula. Top with remaining 2 cups Doritos. Then sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.

6. Bake for another five minutes and serve.

Doritos, cheese, sour cream, chili...what's not to love? Give it a try and ENJOY!

Acorn Squash

Acorn squash, or as my beloved in-laws in WA state say it "squarsh," contains beta-carotene, fiber, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B, magnesium, and manganese. A little powerhouse! It is a fruit because its seeds are inside--and yep, that means cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, and zucchinis are also fruits. (Strawberries are in their own class, not technically fruits, the little dickens.) But when you are a kid a squash might as well be a vegetable and, therefore, inherently repulsive. So this is how I get my monkeys to eat their squarsh. :)

You will need:

1 acorn squash for every two people
I used 2 squash for the four of us so...
4T butter (Smart Balance!!)
4T brown sugar (light or dark)
Kosher salt
2 cups water
aluminum foil lined 9x13in baking dish



Preheat your oven to 400.


Wash your squash with soap and hot water, even if you found organic, and dry them fully. Then cut them in half from the stem down. Be careful--they can be slippery.



Use a spoon to remove the guts, just like you would with a cantaloupe.



Reserve the guts to feed to your chickens...or not.



Place the halves in your pan cut-side up.



Use a fork to score the insides of each squash...



then smear 1T of butter on each half.



Now drop 1T of brown sugar into each half, no need to spread it around. (In the picture, the bottom left-hand squash has Splenda brown sugar in it and that's why it is darker.) Then sprinkle with Kosher salt--just a pinch per half.



The last step is to carefully add 2 cups of water to your pan. Don't get any water inside your squash.



Bake for 40-50 minutes or until tender and lightly browned.



You will want to serve these right away. I put them in a bowl and the use a fork to scrape down the sides...



until all the flesh is removed from the skins and is mixed up with the delicious butter and brown sugar.



They are so flavorful--almost as good as a dessert! In fact, I always save mine to eat last because I am one of those people who needs a bit of sweet after a meal. And, no offense to the Biggest Loser, but sugar-free gum just doesn't cut it. :)


Enjoy!!


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Country Chicken Casserole

This recipe is comfort food at its best. It is super simple to make, but tastes like it's complicated. It's the kind of casserole that makes you sigh because it is so good. And it's also the perfect dish to take to a potluck or bring to a friend in need. When people refer to a dish as comfort food they usually mean that it has the flavors of your childhood, is high in calories, and is something you don't indulge in very often, but when do you enjoy every single bite. This dish is no exception--in fact, it might just take the crown in this house. :) (I've been watching too much Toddlers and Tiaras.) Usually I change up recipes to make them healthier, so I've used 98% fat free condensed soup and skim milk, but this is comfort food and full-fat cheese and fried onions are a requirement. :)

You will need:

3 cups frozen shredded hash browns
1 small can of fried onions
cheddar cheese (I measure by handfuls)
4-6 (depending on size) cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 can 98% fat-free condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup skim milk
1 can low sodium corn
1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen sweet peas
salt to taste



Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Liberally grease (I use pan spray) a 9x13 baking dish and spread the hash browns in it. Then add the onions and toss.



Spread about two handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the onion/hash brown mix. More if you like! (I always, always shred my own cheese. The prepackaged shredded cheese is tossed with cornstarch to prevent sticking, which keeps it from melting properly and it is loaded with preservatives. Yuck.)



I forgot to take a picture of this step (shame on me). Spread the chicken on top of the cheese and sprinkle with seasoning. I use Cavender's but Lawry's, Montreal Chicken, or even just salt and pepper would be fine.


In a separate bowl, add the soup, milk, peas, and corn. You should also add a bit of salt. (You can totally play around with different veggies. Broccoli would make a great addition or substitution. So would carrots!)



Now pour that mixture over the top of your 9x13 pan and spread it around. I place the dish on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven, but I've never had it boil over.)



Bake for 30 minutes and then remove from oven. Add another handful of cheese on top and put it back into the oven for 3 minutes, or until the cheese melts.



As Tink likes to say, "it's time to feast!" Sooooo good. The potatoes don't get crispy at all (like hash browns). They are soft and cheesy and the onions add amazing flavor.



We never have any leftovers! Truly comforting and indulgent. Normally I would add biscuits or cornbread to a casserole to make it a meal, but any addition is completely unnecessary with this dish. So yummy!!!!




Enjoy!!

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Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

When I was making the kids' lunches yesterday morning I realized it had been a couple of weeks since they wanted PB&J. (Their current kick is ham and mustard.) That got me thinking about the new jar of Smart Balance PB I had just purchased and the fun ways I could use it up. My first thought was peanut butter cookies, of course, but I also tossed around the idea of peanut butter pie or cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I never got around to making anything because of an appt. When Bubba got home from work he said (and I swear I didn't mention anything about wanting to make PB cookies) that he had been thinking about PB cookies all day and would I please make some. It's officially happened...we have been married long enough that we are reading each other's minds. :) :) So PB cookies it is!!

You will need:

3/4 cup Smart Balance sticks (or butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups white whole wheat flour
***********
2T sugar for topping



Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Beat the sugars and butter in an electric mixer for two minutes (until fluffy) and then beat in the peanut butter. I use Smart Balance natural PB. It has a very low sugar content, contains Omega 3, has and no hydrogenated oil (trans fat). Check your labels. If you have more than 3g of sugar per serving decrease the amount of sugar you use in this recipe. Some of the big name peanut butters are almost pure sugar. Natural peanut butter is the best!



Add the egg and the vanilla and mix together.



Add the salt and baking soda to the flour and add to the peanut butter mixture one cup at a time, mixing after each cup.



Roll the batter into 1-inch balls (you may have to refrigerate for a half hour if you batter is too sticky). Place the cookies on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.




Dip a fork into the 2T sugar and press into the cookie twice, making a crisscross pattern.





Bake for 15 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.



You don't notice that these cookies are whole wheat. They are light and soft on the inside while the edges are crisp. Perfect. You can dress them up a bit by adding a 1/2 cup of peanuts or chocolate chips if you like, but I like them just they way they are.



Store them in a plastic bag for a week or freeze them for up to a month. If these cookies last until tomorrow morning in this house I will be surprised. If cookies go fast in your house, too, hide a couple and have them with your morning coffee. With the whole wheat and natural peanut butter they are no different than having a muffin in the morning and maybe even better for you (dependent on the sugar content of your muffins).



Enjoy!!

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Beanless Chili

I am so sorry! I apologize profusely for my extended absence. I could bore you with the thousand reasons that kept me away, but they really don't matter. I'm back and I hope you can forgive me for leaving!!!

I have already posted my favorite recipe for chili, but this recipe is great when you don't feel like having beans or have run out of Beano. :) It's also low carb, if that's something that interests you (if not, try substituting beer for the water). Though I prefer my other recipe with lots of beans, it's fun to change it up sometimes. Even favorite recipes can get boring if you make them too often.

You will need:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lbs lean beef for stew
4 cups water
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 can mild (or medium or hot) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
1 tsp red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup ketchup (optional--I used low sugar ketchup)
ground cumin to taste
chili powder to taste





I like to add a little oil to my pot before browning meat. You can leave out this step if you like.



Add meats, chopped green pepper, onion (any kind--I used a red onion because that's what I had in the veggie drawer), and garlic to large pot. Brown on medium high heat.



As the meat begins to brown sprinkle about the salt, 2 tsp of chili powder and 1 tsp of cumin on top and continue to brown.



When all traces of pink are gone, add the water, can of tomatoes and chilies, the tomato paste, cinnamon, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and red pepper (if you choose to use it). Give it a couple of shakes more of chili powder, too.



Mix it all together and then drop in the bay leaves.



Boil on medium low heat for three hours, tasting periodically and adding more cumin and chili powder as needed. I added probably another tsp of cumin and 2 tsp of chili powder total. Taste for salt content, too. Taste, taste, taste!

After three hours the stew meat will be falling apart tender and you can turn down the chili to a simmer until you are ready to eat it.



Serve it with some cornbread!



Enjoy!!


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