Holiday Baking - Family Favorite Sugar Cookies

I am finally feeling the holiday spirit and last night enjoyed making these yummy cookies!  This is a recipe I have adapted out of an old edition of the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Growing up that was our cooking bible.  Every time my mom or I wanted a recipe for something we ran to the cupboard and grabbed this cookbook.  I remember one time I wanted to make some extra money while we had a garage sale so I sold lemonade and cookies, surprising I know...  These cookies were the ones I made and they were such a hit I sold out before the sale was over! 

Don't let the oil distract you, they are incredibly buttery tasting and the oil only makes it that much easier.  I used canola oil but vegetable would work well.  Don't use an oil with flavor, like olive or peanut.

Quick Sugar Cookies with Oil

adapted from a recipe in Joy of Cooking

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground clove

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup cooking oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Sugar (sprinkles or turbinado sugar is best)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, salt & spices.
• In separate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
• Add flour to oil mix in parts, combining well after each addition.
• Scoop out 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
• Press a flat bottomed cup into dough to moisten, then dip into sugar and flatten cookies with it.  It will leave sugar on to and if it sticks, that just means you need to add more sugar to your plate so it will stick.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges just start to turn color.

Another cookie recipe I LOVE and Kyarah has asked about is the for Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies.  They are so delish, incredibly easy, and by Paula Deen so don't even think they aren't bad for you!

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

Hectic Time

As of now, I am not sure how much I will be posting this month, recipe wise.  I hope to be able to keep up but right now I am going through some things at work and I am trying to quelm a bit of anxiety that seems to be taking up much of my focus.  Sorry to all of my readers, all three of you, but I shall get to posting soon!

Live, Laugh, Love!

It has passed...

I honestly think I was disappointed in myself this year in regards to Thanksgiving dinner.  Everyone was happy with my wares but I feel I could have done so much better.  It could have been because I was mentally on vacation.  I took about 11 days off and didn't do much, loved it!  I will take it up a notch for Christmas, for sure!

I was also disappointed in myself for not taking a picture of the turkey but I was majorly stressing at that point to get all the food on the table that I guess I just disregarded it.  We had a traditional meal but no sweet potatoes, which was the biggest mistake.  I think maybe that was why I felt like I was missing something.  I won't be doing that again... 

Overall the turkey was yummy (but ready too early), the ham was delish (yeah we have both...), the mashed potatoes were fluffy, the green bean casserole was creamy, the mac n cheese was super, the cranberry sauce was fabulous, the gravy was ok (I really prefer fresh turkey gravy but didn't make it since the stressing was getting to me...), the rolls were warm, the stuffing wasn't that great (and I LOVE stuffing...), the pumpkin pie was good (but took way too long to bake), and spending time as a family was terrific.  So I guess overall it was good, just not as I have had in the past, miss my Mom's cooking but next year I shall do better!

Sorry for the short hiatus but I shall get back to clogging soon and I am thinking of doing a theme, maybe just start with A and see where it takes me... 

Live, Laugh, Love!

Cochinita Pibil - Say what???

In order to be more creative in the kitchen I figure its about time I roll up my sleeves and start thinking Mexican.  For those who know me, you may think this an odd statement, seeing how JL is Mexican and would assume I am already doing this, but alas no.  The sole reason being that I wouldn't want to compete with his mother or other excellent cooks in his family.  Silly as it sounds trying to cook something new can be intimidating and then having something fabulous to compare my cooking to...  well you get the idea.  JL thinks it is silly. 

I have referenced Simply Recipes before but I really love the blog, really.  Elise cooks some Tex-Mex stuff and some authentic Mexican dishes too.   Not only that but she cooks other delicious recipes I seem to always want to try, maybe its the photos...  Anyway, you have to check it out. 

Back to my rant...  So in order for me to start this journey I found a recipe for Chochinita Pibil on Elise's site and decided why not?  It looked pretty easy, just needed a special Mexican ingredient, and a long time to cook.  Bonus: JL had never tried it!!!  Not only that but a cousin of a friend has tried it and she said it was good, so I jumped... And it was definitely worth it!!! 

I would highly suggest this for any cook, so incredibly easy and super delicious, please try it and don't be wary of its origin!

Cochinita Pibil Recipe

Some of my suggestions:

• Steam a couple of chile de arbols (or other spicy red chile) and toss in the blender with the marinade.  We thought it needed a kick but still delish. 
• Cook it in a Crock Pot for 5-7 hours on high (depending on how much you are making)
• This recipe will feed four, without much leftovers, so we doubled the recipe, had some friends over and had some for lunch the next day.  It is delish the next day.
• Definitely shred the meat and mix in some of the broth before serving.
• Serve with Lime-Cilantro rice, Elise has a recipe for it linked to the Cochinita Pibil recipe.
• We also had some avocado with it :)

Sorry for no photo but I just can't compete with Elise :)

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

Herbed Butter for Roast Chicken

Again, we are having Roast Chicken for dinner and I can't wait.  Not only are we having it for dinner tonight, but we will have the leftovers for tomorrow in sandwich and cheesy enchilada form :)

If you are looking for an easy herbed butter to slide under the skin of chicken or turkey this season, this is it.  All the seasonings are included and no need to sprinkle or rub chicken, unless you want a little extra salt. 

1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt (or less if you plan on massaging the bird in it)
2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped fine
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder, or one to two cloves of garlic chopped fine
1/2 tsp onion powder

Combine the ingredients together and stuff under the skin of the chicken.

If you want to use this for turkey, double or triple the recipe, depending on the size of the turkey.

Some more helpful tips...

For a crispy skin, you don't need to add oil, just dry it out in the fridge for a few hours before roasting it and it will come out nice and brown and crispy.  Typically I let JL indulge in that part...

For a quicker cooking bird, don't stuff it, with anything. 

Contrary to Martha, tying a bird will increase it's density, thus making the cooking time a bit longer as well.  I do prefer to tie up my Thanksgiving Turkey but will consider not doing that this year just to prevent the breasts from drying out.

Don't cook Roast Chicken with the foil on.  It will only steam the meat and not let it roast.  Many people think this will help keep the moisture in but the skin does a great job of that on its own and if you cover it, you will end up with soggy chicken skin, ewww....

I found that brushing the butter on top of the skin only allows for it to melt and run off, in order to keep the flavors and allow for the infused herbs to flavor the meat, put the butter under the skin in a solid form and as the chicken roasts, the butter will melt into the meat of the chicken...  yummy!

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

Best Ribs Ever!

It is time for me to share our secret recipe for the best baby back ribs ever.  Are you ready?  The secret is Newcastle!  Yup, you heard right...

1 rack of baby back ribs
1 bottle of Newcastle
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
Pork Spice Rub (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut up rib rack into two to four pieces, depending on how many each person wants, it also will allow for the ribs to fit nicely in a 13 x 9 inch pan.

Pour entire beer bottle over ribs and bake in oven for 1.5 to 2 hours, until ribs are tender. You can test them with a fork.

Heat up grill to medium to high heat.

Coat ribs with BBQ Sauce and place on grill.  Turn once the sauce has caramelized and you can add another coat, depending on how much sauce you want, we like tons!

If you want to add the spice rub for more depth of flavor, coat the meat before you coat with beer.

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

This post was not sponsored by Sweet Baby Ray's or Newcastle.

Contemplation

As you may or may not know, I am on a bit of a diet...  That phrase might have been a little understated but I don't want you all to think I have gone mad and won't be able to post any more delicious recipes because my new goal is how to make healthy delicious, or give lots of goodies to my friends and family.  It will be my new challenge and I am totally up for it! 

Jose has been on a healthy spree for the past 5 weeks and so I figured it was my turn to hop on that bandwagon.  Almost two weeks in and so far I have lost four pounds and I am in my craving stage.  If you aren't familiar with dieting or forget what its like (so jealous of you!) then usually within weeks two through six, the dieter typically will start craving everything and anything that may have been favorites or just ok but are now banned, until things get under control.  What am I craving today?  Buffalo wings... the craziest thing is that previously I just thought they were "ok", that is until I couldn't have them :/  Oh well, two more months of this and as long as I continue to work out I can have 'em again! 

You may think I am crazy for trying this around the holiday season and I know, it is crazy.  Timing was just right so I thought, why not?  Also, the Real Age web site has been bugging me and I realized that I don't feel my age, but I was starting to look it.  If you know my family, you will know that I have been gifted to be a part of a genetic chain that doesn't age very quickly, thanks Grandma Jo Hanna and Grandpa Wes!  If you were to meet my uncle you would not guess his age, I would bet $20 on it.  He has more energy than I do and he is twice my age.  Check out: Real Age and see for yourself how old your body really is...  I went form 27.5, prediet and exercise, to 22.5, yesterday.  Now I know 27 is my real age but who honestly wants their body to be aging at the rate or a little faster than their real age?

So give it a try, it takes a few minutes but gives helpful tips and advice on how to make your body younger and your life span longer!

Live, Laugh, Love!

Cream Puff Cups

Hello all!  Recently I have been in the competitive spirit.  As you may or may not know, I "heart" Paula Deen!  I think her cooking is real American and I love that she loves butter just like me!  In fact I think using olive oil in place of it can be horrendous and I'd rather have nothing at all...  Just my thought :)

I frequent Paula's website and have been noticing the ad from Philadelphia Cream Cheese about a contest for recipes.  Since I was young, haven't entered a contest, mainly because I am afraid of losing, silly I know.  So I decided to make a leap for it.

This happens to be the last week for this competition and each week has a specific theme.  This week's theme is Desserts - Make To Impress.  I thought that maybe I could do this but wasn't sure what to enter.  I decided to review the other entries, my competition, and see if it was even worth it.  You can view the other entries here.

Many of you may think I entered a cake, but no I didn't :)  It is a make to impress and I can only use ten ingredients or less.  You would be surprised at how hard that can be.  My entry was at exactly ten ingredients and I could of had more but I adjusted.  This recipe was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, The Girl Who Ate Everything and her Strawberry Cream Puff Cake, however, mine is definitely different.

Cream Puff Cup

6 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg
1 tbsp water
16 strawberries
8 sprigs of mint for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Lay out puff pastry sheets and cut into four six-inch squares, it doesn’t have to be exact.

3. Lay each square over cup in muffin tin and work into the cup. There will be about one to two inches of edging.

4. Combine egg and water and whisk until combined to make egg wash.

5. Brush pastry top with egg wash.

6. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are a deep golden brown and puffed up.

7. Remove from muffin tin and let cool.

8. Combine Philadelphia Cream Cheese, sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth in appearance.

9. Add whipping cream and beat until stiff peaks form.

10. Fold in the orange zest until combined, don’t over mix, and set aside.

11. Slice strawberries in four and reserve the middle two slices for garnish.

12. Wash and dry mint sprigs, clip off the end bunch of about four or six leaves, whichever you prefer for decoration.

13. Fill a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with the cream cheese mixture and pipe into the cooled pastry cups.

14. Garnish with the strawberries and mint bunches.

Note: The parts of this can be prepared in advance but do not fill the pastry cups until a couple hours prior serving; otherwise the pastry won’t be as crisp.

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy! (And wish me luck!)

Halloween Treats

Being on a budget can make things difficult for my creativity but then I realize, it is only a challenge and I can make it happen!  So for our pumpkin carving party I decided to make sugar cookies, since we also have ample amounts of candy for all to pick at.  I really like the sugar cookies that come in the gift baskets but I think sometimes they can be a bit dry.  I tried this new recipe and I love it and so did JL who claims to "not be into sweets".  He can deny it all he wants but when I make a really good dessert he just can't seem to help himself :)

Sugar Cookies (like the gift basket ones)
Sadly I don't know where I got this from but thank you!


1/2 C + 6 T butter, I used salted
3 C + 3 T all purpose flour
1 C superfine sugar, you can toss some regular sugar into a food processor to make it superfine
1 large egg
1 t vanilla

• Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla, just until it is creamy, don't over mix!
• Beat in egg until well combined.
• Add flour until a non-sticky dough forms.
• Knead and separate into two portions.  
• Roll out in between two pieces of parchment or wax paper and let cool in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, until firm.
• Remove from fridge and cut into desired shapes.
• Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes on a parchment lined cookies sheet.
• Slide paper off of sheet and let coo before removing them.

Frosting
Adapted from All Recipes, Submitted by JB BOX

1 C powdered sugar
2 t milk
2 t light corn syrup
1/4 t vanilla extract
food coloring

• Combine all but food coloring and separate into desired portions for coloring.
• Wait until cookies have cooled before frosting.

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken

When trying to get creative with the ever-so-boring chicken, utilizing new or unknown ingredients can be the only way to go.  Chipotle Chilies are smoked Jalapenos and delicious in almost anything, even mixed with sour cream for a creamy salad dressing.  As spicy as jalapenos can be, the smoking of them can reduce the bite a little bit.  The Adobo sauce they are combined with, typically, in the can is deliciously sweet and can balance out the spicy-ness, leaving the smoky jalapeno delectably savory and edible for this gringa (white girl)!  If you like heat but never tried chipotle chilis, taste it and add as many as you want to the marinade.  I didn't blend the ingredients but thinking back, that might have been a great idea!

Yummy Chipotle Chicken that you can use for tacos, burritos or salad.

Chipotle Chicken
Adapted from Simply Recipies

2 chicken breasts sliced in half or pounded
2 chipotle chilis, diced
Sauce from chipotle chilis
2 T lime juice
1 T canola oil
Sprinkle of salt

Marinate chicken in chilis, juice, oil & salt for 30 minutes to 1 day.

Grill chicken until done.

As you can see below, I make American tacos, versus the typical Mexican taco with onion, cilantro and salsa.

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!