Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

I made these when I was looking for a treat to make that C could "help" with.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt


FROSTING:
1 cup butter, softened
9 cups confectioners' sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 to 3/4 cup 2% milk
Paste food coloring

Directions
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter.
Place 1 in. apart on baking sheets lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Add enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Tint with food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired. Yield: about 4-1/2 dozen.
Originally published as Sour Cream Sugar Cookies in Taste of Home February/March 2008, p41

First, I halved the frosting because that amount seemed like a ton. I'm not a huge fan of sour cream sugar cookies. I find them too thick and dry. And...these were thick and dry. They weren't very sweet or flavorful until they were frosted. C did have fun making them with me, though. And they still got eaten pretty fast.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

I love english muffins. My favorite way to have them is toasted with honey butter slathered on top. Yum. I could eat half a dozen at a time (and have).   I have been wanting to make these for awhile now.  I love the recipe in the Allred Cookbook, but they aren't whole wheat.  So when I saw these in my pile I shouted with joy.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

Split these muffins with a fork and toast the cut sides.  Serve with yogurt cheese and fruit conserve.

1 T dry yeast
1/4 c warm water
1 t honey (we are out, so I used maple syrup)
1 3/4 c warm milk
3 1/4 c whole wheat bread flour
1/4 c wheat germ (I suggest getting it before you are in the middle of the recipe and have to run to Walmart...)
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 c raisins

NOTE: I omitted the cinnamon and raisins because I wanted a more versatile muffin.  

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and add the honey.  Set aside to proof ten minutes. 

In a larger bowl, combine the milk, bread flour,wheat germ, and cinnamon.  Add the yeast mixture and raisins and beat well.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about one hour).

Heat a heavy griddle, skillet, or baking sheet on top of stove.  Brush with oil.  Grease several crumpet rings, small tuna cans with both ends removed, or canning jar rings.  Keep the heat under the griddle low.

NOTE:  I prefer to use the electric skillet Grandma gave us when we got married.  It has a lid, so the middle gets cooked through better than on a griddle. 
 
With a spoon or ladle, half fill the rings.  Cook the muffins about 6 minutes on each side or until brown on both sides.

Yield: 15 muffins
Approximately 157 calories each

Here are my thoughts on this recipe.  It was not near as liquidy as the recipe made it out to be.  I cut the dough with my jar ring, instead of filling the dough into it.  I had to add more water to get it even that liquidy.  In the end, it didn't seem to make much of a difference anyway.

My other issue was with rising times.  The recipe I normally use says to rise 12 hours at least.  This only said one and when I went to check it after an hour it had risen, but didn't taste like english muffins.  So I let it rise overnight and it was much better in the morning. 

Other than that it was a great recipe.  We have already eaten half of them and I just made them yesterday.  We eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack.  Yesterday we used them for mini pizzas. 

I will definitely make this again with a few tweaks based on my last experience.

Kai Si Ming

This is recipe from Ellen Cooper. I wondered about the origins of this dish since it sounds Asian, but it uses American ingredients. After poking around, I found it's actually Australian, which makes sense. Most of the recipes for this dish include vegetables, particularly cabbage. It seems like you could add in whatever veggies you want, and it would be good.

Kai Si Ming

1 lb hamburger
1 onion, sliced
3 c hot water
1 pkg dry chicken noodle soup mix
2 tsp curry powder

Brown hamburger and onion. Add water, soup and curry. Simmer for 15-45 min. Serve over hot rice. Good with soy sauce, too.

I didn't have very high expectations for this dish, but I liked it better than I thought. Brian thought it was okay. I usually don't go for recipes that take dry soup mixes because they tend to be very salty. This is no exception. If you aren't watching your sodium intake, give this recipe a try.

Sweet Potato Gems

This recipe is also from the Sweet Potato Booklet.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I made these. Muffins?  Biscuits?  The result was neither.  It was almost a muffin, but denser.  Partially because I forgot the baking powder, but also I think it is supposed to be denser than your average muffin.

Sweet Potato Gems

Take equal parts finely mashed sweet potato and flour, about 1 quart each, 2 tablespoons butter, a little salt, 1 or 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and milk enough to make a medium stiff batter; bake in muffin tins in hot oven.  These are also good served with fricasseed chicken.

I had to look up fricasseed chicken to find out what it was.  We did not have these with fricasseed chicken. Even though they were dense, we both liked these.  They would have been much better with the baking soda however.  I will probably forgo these in favor of the sweet potato rolls that I made awhile back.

Chicken Divan

I wasn't expecting much when I made tonight's dinner.  I had heard of Chicken Divan, but no one has ever called it spectacular! or amazing!

But what we ate didn't taste half bad.

Chicken Divan
Submitted by Marilyn Tronier (on some random piece of paper)


1 package (10 oz) frozen asparagus or broccoli spears, cooked and drained
3 to 4 servings sliced cooked chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 c milk
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Arrange asparagus spears in a 1 1/2 qt. shallow baking dish; top with chicken. Blend soup and milk; pour over all.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until hot.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

It was good. Not awesome, but good, quick, and cheap enough for me.  I will probably make it again when I'm in a pinch for a dinner to have.

And as a side note, for dessert we had this Chocolate Cobbler.  It was a deemed "so good!".  You should make it now (with ice cream, of course).

Get Your Healthy Fried Chicken From the Oven!

That is the heading of the newspaper article that this Dad recipe came from.  I can tell it is a dad recipe because it's torn out of the Wausau Daily Herald in 2009.  I wonder if he ever actually made it, because it was really good.

Baked Popcorn Chicken
Start to finish: 30 Minutes
Servings: 8

Olive oil cooking spray
2  large egg whites
2 T dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
2 c panko breadcrumbs
 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

Heat the oven to 450 degree.  Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  In medium bowl, whick together the egg whites, mustard, and salt.  In shallow bowl or pie plate, spread the panko.  Add the chicken pieces to the egg mixture and toss to coat.  A few pieces at a time, transfer the chicken to the breadcrumbs and toss to coat.  Transfer the breaded  chicken pieces to the prepared baking sheet, arranging them close together but not touching.  When all of the chicken is on the baking sheet, spritz them lightly with cooking spray.  Bake for 15 minutes, then use a spatula or tongs to flip the chicken pieces.  Continue baking until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, another 5 to ten minutes.  Serve hot.

Nutrition information per serving:  143 calories; 11 calories form fat


We liked it.  This is the type of meal that is loved in our household, but it was much healthier than the normal greasy chicken.  I barely overcooked it, but that was my fault.  We are definitely going to eat this again.

Dill 'N Potato Salad

So, I made this Dill 'n Potato salad, from the Kraft recipe card that was in the cupboard.
Ben and Russell really liked it, and I liked it a little bit too.
Recipe:
3/4 cup mayo
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups cubed cooked potatoes
1/4 cup chopped red onions
Combine mayo, dill, salt, pepper. Mix well.
Add potatoes and onions. Mix until all are coated. Chill in fridge.

 Ben says it's not as good as his mom's mustard/curry potato salad, but that it was good and savory.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

I have actually made this recipe before, from allrecipes.com

Easy Alfredo Sauce

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a medium saucepan combine whipping cream, butter or margarine, and grated Parmesan cheese. Cook over medium low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken upon standing.

Pretty easy. I thought it was a little grainy, so I may have had the heat up too high. I mixed some chopped spinach in the sauce and the graininess wasn't noticeable. I also assumed this was a recipe where you season to your tastes, so I added garlic, pepper, and a little bit of Italian seasonings. I put it on some spaghetti and shredded chicken, and it all tasted good.

After a streak of not very good meals, Brian said this one was good enough to go in the regular meal rotation. 

Easy Ham and Noodles

This is what was for dinner last night.   Easy Ham and Noodles

Rated: Submitted By: BOBKAT2000 Photo By: GodivaGirl Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 4

"Leftover ham gets a second chance to please your palate in this simple casserole of egg noodles, Cheddar cheese and cream of mushroom soup. Add sweet green peas for color and flavor."

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked egg noodles 1 cup cubed, cooked ham 1/2 cup cubed Cheddar cheese

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup 1/2 (10.75 ounce) can milk

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.	Place the noodles, ham, cheese, soup and milk in a 9x9 inch casserole dish and mix well.
3.	Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes.

I have been nesting and one thing that has been driving me crazy is our freezers (and pantry, but that is another story). I found some leftover ham I had frozen from our New Year's ham this year, so I thought "why not make this while the temperature is below 70 degrees."  It was okay. The printed version I had said it had been scaled to 8 servings, which I should have paid attention to and halved the recipe. I didn't, and I think I may have not cooked quite enough noodles because it was pretty saucy. I added some peas from a partially used bag to get it out of the freezer, too. Little Chubb took a break from his food strike and ate quite a bit of it. Big Chubb didn't like the fact that there was no flavoring besides the ham and cream of mushroom soups. He has high hopes for some onions or garlic or something else next time we eat it.

Cheeseburger 'N' Fries Casserole

This recipe comes from a pamphlet entitled Fast Fixes with Mixes, I think from Taste of Home.  Most of these recipes are foods that have cream of-- soups in them.  This one is from Karen Owen, of Rising Sun, Indiana (where is that?).


Cheeseburger 'N' Fries Casserole

Picture taken from Taste of Home website.  Mine did not look appetizing.

2 lbs lean ground beef'
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can condensed cheddar soup, undiluted
1 package (20 oz) frozen crinkle cut french fries

In a skillet, brown the beef; drain.  Stir in soups.  Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Arrange french fries on top.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until the fries are golden brown.
Yield: 6-8 servings.

It tasted like cheeseburgers and fries.  We used ground turkey and "heart healthy" soups to try to make it healthier, but it was still not what we are used to eating, so it gave our digestive systems....the fits.  But we both liked it fine. 

Strawberry Bread

Surprisingly, I also had a recipe for strawberry bread among my collection. I don't ever remember eating any of Sarah's magical strawberry bread that she made. I checked and this is a different recipe, so if you are too afraid to try her recipe, give this one a try.

With plenty of butter :)

Strawberry Bread modified from Creating Christmas Memories (Have I missed something? Strawberries aren't in season at Christmas.)

1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped pecans
10-oz. package frozen strawberries, defrosted
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients. For easy removal, grease loaf pan, cover bottom with wax paper trimmed to fit, and grease again.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Makes 1 loaf. 

Excellent recipe! My favorite part about it was the instructions on how to get it to come out of the pan easily were longer than the instructions on how to make it. I do not enjoy having to mix wet and dry ingredients in different bowls and then do all sorts of fancy things. Too much work and too many dishes!

I had to bake it about 15-20 minutes longer then the recipe suggested, but I'm pretty sure that is my bread pan's problem, not the actual recipe's problem. Maybe one day I'll get at least one good for bread.

I will admit I was a little bit worried knowing the history of strawberry bread in our family. I just used some strawberries I froze last summer (that I got on a killer sale!) so I was unsure if it was even close to 10 oz. I feared that I would end up with a brick instead of a nice loaf. Even without defrosting them all the way, it still turned out pretty nicely. I included the nuts (walnuts instead of pecans because that's what I have) which may have helped it stay a decent consistency.

And, I was going to say I am eating a slice as I type this in, but it was gone before blogger opened the page. Yum!

Slow Cooker Lentil Rice Soup

This seemed to be the soup version of  one of my favorite cheap meals.

Slow Cooker Lentil Rice Soup
from Allrecipes.com

2 cups dry lentils
 2 cups uncooked long grain brown rice
 1 cup chopped carrots
 1/2 cup chopped celery
 1/2 onion, chopped
 8 cups water
 1 cup vegetable broth
 1 teaspoon garlic powder
 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
 1 tablespoon salt
 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Directions

Place the lentils, rice, carrots, celery, onion, water, broth, garlic powder, ground black pepper and salt in a slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours. Stir in the mushrooms 1 hour before serving.

I forgot to put the mushrooms in, but I don't think that would help it. It needed much more water, and it was pretty bland. It's so inexpensive, convenient, and healthy that it is worth making again and doctoring it up.

Utah Sweet Potato Rolls

My Cupboard Project recipe collection includes a booklet entitled, Sweet Potato Recipes "With That Old Fashioned Flavor".  Sweet potatoes happen to be a favorite of mine, so I was excited when I noticed it in my pile.  The Subtitle is correct--many of the recipes have an old fashioned flair to them, such as Possum and Taters.  I, however, am not planning on eating any possum in the near future, so I rifled through it hoping to find a normal recipe that would catch my eye.

And boy did I.  I want to make many of these recipes, ones like Sweet Potato Souffle, Missouri Potato Pudding, and the incredibly enticing Sweet Potato Doughnuts.  But those will have to wait for another day, when I have the energy (and calories) for such delicacies.  Today I made Utah Sweet Potato Rolls.

2 C hot mashed sweet potatoes
3 T butter or margarine
1 t salt
1 egg
3 T sugar
1 yeast cake (2 1/4 t yeast)
1 C lukewarm water
2 C flour

Beat the butter in hot sweet potatoes and let cool to lukewarm.  Soften the yeast cake in warm water.  Add the salt, well beaten egg, sugar, and yeast mixture to sweet potatoes.  Add the flour and knead until smooth.  Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place til it has doubled in bulk.  Knead down again.  Break off small balls and place in well greased muffin tins.  Put aside to rise again until doubled in bulk.  Bake in a moderate oven (350F) until delicately browned (Usually 12-20 minutes).

These were incredible.  I'm generally not so good when it comes to making rolls and breadsticks and the like.  But these, these were perfect.  Moist and flavorful, and of course unbeatable when slathered with butter. I did have to add almost double the amount of flour it called for.  I roughly measured the sweet potatoes, but maybe added too many, causing that.  The dough was still very sticky when I shaped them, but they turned out swell, so I guess it didn't matter.

I paired it with this chicken, which I also highly recommend.

In other news, happy birthday to me!  Whew, I'm sure getting along in the years.  24 big ones.  I spent my day with a baby that moved much less than usual and cried and whined much more than usual.

Laying with me (which never happens), while watching some dumb baby show and petting her dog with her feet.

Turns out she has pressure in her ears, but no fever, so no official ear infection, so no medicine.  Here is my annual picture of the cake the Jakester made for me.  He really likes those ball candy things and has to always put them on my cake.