County Fair Cookies (best ever sugar cookie)

I had so many requests for this on Facebook so I decided to post it here, too.

County Fair Cookies

2 c sugar

1 c shortening (butter but NOT margarine)

2 eggs

1/2 c sour cream (or buttermilk - and I've been known to use sour milk, but milk doesn't go bad in my house, so that's usually not an option!)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

5 c flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, beating well after each. Add sour cream. Add dry ingredients. Starting with 4 1/2 cups of flour, continue to add flour until dough no longer sticks to the bowl but is still malleable.

Roll to desired thickness. Cut out shapes. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Decorate as desired.

Merry Christmas!

Maple Pumpkin Pie recipe

Maple Pumpkin Pie recipe

I haven't tried this yet, but I think this is the recipe I'm going to use! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Chicken Pot Pie Pockets

I decided to try something new (and I didn't think about taking pictures, sorry). I was in the mood for homemade bread and chicken pot pie. So I decided to marry the two!

The shell:

My favorite homemade wheat bread dough.

The filling:

1 26-oz. can cream of chicken soup

1/2 package of frozen mixed vegetables

Easy, huh?

I make bread dough one loaf at a time (because that's how big my food processor is, yes, I use my food processor). Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each ball out thin and cut in half, you may have semi-circles or triangles, we ended up with both because my kids were helping me.

Place approximately 1/2 cup of filling in each and fold dough over and pinch shut to prevent too much spillage.

We ended up with 16 "pockets" on two cookie sheets.

Cover and let rise for about 25 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes (check the bottoms of the pockets to make sure the dough is cooked. I was following my bread recipe which said to bake for 25 minutes and I had to put the pockets back in for another 10-15 minutes to bake the bottoms.

These were a huge hit with my kids, my brother AND my husband!

I hope you like them, too!

Hawaiian Haystacks

These are so good that although I just posted it on my blog, I'm coming to post it on this one too. YUM!!

These come from a ward cookbook that I have. I chose them this week because I was flipping though the cookbook and had yum written on the page. I did remember it being tasty. It didn't disappoint today. The other great thing about it was that it was super easy. I put my rice in the rice cooker, put me precooked chicken in the microwave, heated my gravy, chopped my bell pepper and celery together in the food processor and luckily had tomatoes left over from yesterday's tacos. It took very little effort today. Never a bad thing in my book.
Not sure it is the prettiest food to look at, but it sure is tasty.



Ingredients

• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup chicken broth
  
• 1 can (9 1/2 oz.) chow mein noodles
• 2 c. chicken, cooked and cubed
  
• 1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained
• 4 cups cooked rice
• 1 c. celery, chopped
• 1/2 c. green onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1/2 c. almonds, slivered (optional)
• 1 c. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2 c. coconut (optional)
• 1 bottle sweet and sour sauce
  

Directions:

Mix soup and broth to make gravy. Heat and keep warm. Layer on individual plates in the following order: Rice, chowmein noodles, chicken, gravy, veggies, fruit, cheese, almonds, coconut, and sweet and sour sauce. Serves 6 to 8.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I found this recipe at http://www.goodlifeeats.com/. Yum. I like it.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

1 cup old fashioned oats, not quick cook
1 Tbs whole flax seeds, optional
2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter, softened
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk

Topping:
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp butter, softened
1 Tbs brown sugar

(I skipped the topping to cut down on sugar and fat content)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the oats through salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir well. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, butter, pumpkin, and milk. Whisk thoroughly. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the oats. Stir until combined. Pour into small square baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Tandoori Chicken and Naan

Tandoori Chicken

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
Juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbs oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2-3 lbs)

1. In a shallow glass dish, combine yogurt, lemon juice, and oil; blend well. Add all remaining ingredients except chicken breast halves; blend well. Add chicken; turn to coat. Cover; refrigerate 30-60 minutes to marinate.
2. Line 15X10X1 inch baking pan with foil; spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade; place in foil-lined pan. Discard any marinade.
3. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, turning once.
I had rather large chicken breast halves, so I cut them in half. I figures they would cook faster, and get more marinade on them. It worked very well. Most were done in 10 min. I checked them with a thermometer. If there were up to 159 I took them out. They were perfect. Soft enough to cut with a fork and very yummy! Everyone loved them. Nice Indian flavor.
We served them with the following Naan -the recipe is from allrecipes

Naan
Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
• Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
• At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

We did not make them on a grill - we made them on a cast iron skillet. Delicious!!


If you like the flavor of the tandoori chicken, you may like to try the following - it is a Pakistani recipe, but the flavor is similar, just using beef, and I'm always looking for a recipe using beef that is tasty. It is from Sparkrecipes.

Keema

Ingredients
1.5 lbs lean ground sirloin
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, tumeric, ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Brown ground sirloin in pan with onions until browned.
Add tomatoes, peas, potatoes and spices along with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 mintues.
Add water if it becomes too thick. It should have the consistency of chili.
Serve over brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

Number of Servings: 6

whole grain waffles and blueberry sauce.

We just had this for breakfast and it was so good I'm here posting it already. Both recipes come from allrecipes.com. Yum. The waffles flavor was way better than I expected for a whole grain waffle. What I really liked about them was their texture - nice and crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside. (even the one I burned was soft on the inside - that's amazing.) I can't say enough good things about the sauce. It was amazing. I did sub out 1/4 cup of the sugar for splenda with no problems.

Whole grain waffles

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat in whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until batter is smooth.
2. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron in batches, and cook until crisp and golden brown.

Blueberry Sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
2. In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.