Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles:

Courtesy of Joy of Cooking

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 2 cookies sheets. Whisk until well blended:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Beat in a large bowl:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

2 large eggs

Stir in the flour mixture. Combine:

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Shape the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls, roll in the cinnamon sugar, and arrange about 2 3/4 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to a rack to cool.

These were okay. They turned out more crisp than I wanted. They also made very large cookies.

Goose N Berry Inn Baked French Toast

Goose N Berry Inn Baked French Toast
courtesy of Goose N Berry Inn in Manahawkin, New Jersey

2 cups light brown sugar

1 stick butter

4 Tbsp. flavoring of choice: vanilla, hazelnut, almond, etc. (I used vanilla)

4 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1 loaf Italian or French bread cut into 1 inch thick slices (I used pre-cut cinnamon bread)

cinnamon to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place brown sugar into a 13x8 baking dish. Melt butter in microwave. Blend brown sugar, melted butter and 2 Tbsp. flavoring until it makes a glaze in bottom of the baking dish.

Whisk eggs, milk and remaining flavoring in a shallow bowl until well blended. Dip each bread slice into the egg mixture, soaking both sides.

Set bread on top of brown sugar mixture in baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon to taste. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown

Flip each slice of bread over so glazed side is up.

This was very good, but VERY sweet. You could probably cut the brown sugar/butter mixture in half and still have this be very good. It tasted like a thin cinnamon roll. Very good, but very rich!!

Hash Brown Quiche

Oh my heavens was this good!! I asked my husband what he wanted for supper yesterday and he said "something with eggs." I wanted to do something more than just scrambled eggs, so I thought about a quiche. We're not fans of pastry crust, so this recipe was perfect for us! I invited my parents over to join us and there was not one piece left at the end.

Hash Brown Quiche:

Courtesy of Paula Deen

3 cups shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

3 large eggs, beaten (I used 4 eggs)

1 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

1/2 cup diced green onions (I omitted)

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready, pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Baker's Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

These were pretty good, except mine were awfully flat when they cooled. Everyone enjoyed them though.

Baker's Coconut Oatmeal Cookies:

from cooks.com

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup quick rolled oats

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups coconut

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda together. Cream butter; add sugars gradually. Cream until fluffy and add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture, gradually beating until smooth after each addition. Mix in oats and coconut. Drop from teaspoon onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Yields: 5 dozen

Lasagna Rolls

This is Giada De Laurentiis' recipe from foodnetwork.com. Overall, this dish was good. For my personal taste, it had too much spinach. If I make them again, I will use about half of what she calls for. Also, use a good marinara sauce. I used a cheaper product and was disappointed.

Lasagna Rolls:

from foodnetwork.com

Sauce:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

4 tsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups whole milk (I used skim)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

1 15 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese

1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto (I omitted)

1 large egg, beaten to blend

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil

12 uncooked lasagna noodles

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella (I used about 1/2 cup)

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for three minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about three minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper and nutmeg into the bechemal sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon of two to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking pan. Pour the bechemal sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 Tbsp. of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at one end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechemel sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 Tbsp. of parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat, until hot, and serve alongside.

Cola Chops and Oven Roasted Potatoes

The chops were very good, although a bit dry. The next time I make this recipe, I think I would cook them longer at a lower temperature. The ketchup/cola mixture tastes like a sweet BBQ sauce. The potatoes were awesome, although I had to finish them in the microwave. 45 minutes was not quite enough time for the bigger chunks to cook. A pretty good meal without a lot of work though!

Cola Chops:

adapted from allrecipes.com

3 boneless pork sirloin chops

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup cola

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Place the pork chops into a baking dish. Mix together the ketchup and cola until well blended. Pour mixture over the chops, covering them completely. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. brown sugar over the top of each chop. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Oven Roasted Potatoes:

from allrecipes.com

4 baking potatoes (I used red potatoes)

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. (I left the skin on mine) Place in a shallow 2 quart baking pan. Pour butter over and toss until well coated. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

We had an overabundance of peanut butter cups left over after Halloween. I wanted to bake something with them, and I found this recipe on Taste of Home's website. They looked simple enough. My husband said they are wonderful. A perfect use for excess candy.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies:
from Taste of Home

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups chopped peanut butter cups

In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter cups. (I was low on chocolate chips, so I added some peanut butter chips as well)

Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Yield: 7 1/2 dozen.

Special Creamed Corn

My husband and I have been trying to eat more vegetables and corn is one that we normally can handle. I wanted to find a recipe that added flavor and a new texture to regular frozen corn. I came across this recipe and thought it sounded good. Boy, was it!! This is so good it's going on our Christmas dinner must make list. Very rich, but oh so yummy!

Special Creamed Corn:

from Taste of Home

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup milk (I used skim milk)

1/4 cup sugar (I omitted)

1 tsp salt

dash white pepper (I used black pepper)

5 cups frozen corn, thawed

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add cream, milk, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add corn; heat through.

Transfer to an ungreased 1 1/2 quart broiler-proof dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Broil 5 inches from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Yield: 6-8 servings.