MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

BAKE SALE RECIPES Best recipes ever CHRISTMAS COOKIES CLASSIC RECIPES COOKIE RECIPES

'Tis the season for Christmas cookies, and this is one of our favorites. Simple ingredients, simple instructions; you can make them as festive (or simple) as you want and they are still "melt in your mouth" delicious. Try these classic shortbread cookies for the holidays. best recipes ever

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

1 cup room temperature butter (no substitutions)

1/2  cup brown sugar (packed tight into measuring cup)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

In a large stand mixer (using paddle beater), beat the butter, vanilla and brown sugar (on high) for five minutes (scrape down the bowl sides half way through).

After 5 minutes, add the flour (one cup at a time) and beat until very well mixed and the cookie dough comes away from the sides of

the bowl. best recipes ever

Roll the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least a couple hours (I like to chill overnight).

When you are ready to bake these cookies, roll the log in sprinkles or finely chopped nuts, pressing them in with your hands just a little.

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the cookie log into 1/4" slices and place on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.  Bake in a pre-heated 325° oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges of the cookies JUST START to change color. My electric oven takes 23 minutes.

Remove from cookie sheet and cool on bakers rack.  These cookies do NOT spread out when you bake them, so you can really place them close together on the baking sheet.

SPRINKLES?

NO SPRINKLES?

Just make sure you have a

tall glass of milk!!





KETCHUP

KETCHUP

Best recipes ever CLASSIC RECIPES CLONE RECIPES CONDIMENTS

In your busy, hectic and over-accounted-for day; making homemade ketchup is probably not a big priority ...........I get that. But if you find yourself with a little extra time, this ketchup is WELL WORTH the minimal effort it takes to whip it up. It is not only inexpensive to make (uses every day pantry staples), but it is sweetened with honey, so it is REALLY-REALLY tasty!! best recipes ever

6 ounce can of tomato paste
1/4  cup honey
1/2  cup white vinegar
1/4  cup water
3/4  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon onion powder
1/8  teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
best recipes ever

Whisk everything together until smooth and then bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer slowly for 20 minutes (whisking every five minutes or so).

Cool and store covered in refrigerator. This recipe makes just over a cup of ketchup, but you could easily double or triple the recipe with no other adjustments.

NOTE: In my humble opinion, this ketchup is just perfect, but if you like your ketchup with a little "heat" to it, just add some cayenne before cooking.

CLASSIC BANANA CREAM PIE

CLASSIC BANANA CREAM PIE

Best recipes ever CLASSIC RECIPES NO BAKE DESSERTS PIE RECIPES

Every family holiday dinner, I make way too many desserts. There is usually a cheesecake, a cream/pudding type pie, a fruit pie, cookies and something "experimental". That just means it is a recipe that I really want to make but I know picky-picky husband wouldn't touch it, so I need my family to "step in" and try it. 

As fun as it is to try new recipes, the old classics are always a hit; this banana cream pie is a tried and true family classic; it is the "real deal". It has a baked graham cracker crust, cooked vanilla custard, bananas and the most delicious whipped cream topping I've ever tasted (it has cream cheese in it)

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1½ cups finely crushed graham crackers
¼ cup white sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
Mix everything well and pat into a 10" pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

PIE FILLING
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 and 1/3 cups water
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (see note)
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas (cubed)

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the cornstarch in the water; stir in the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Cook until thickened and bubbly remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly. Cube the bananas and fold into the slightly cooled pudding. Pour into cooled crust and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the filling so that it doesn't form a skin. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours. Frost with whipped cream topping. best recipes ever

WHIPPED CREAM (Stabelized)
I hope you do not skip this step because it really is delicious and "makes" the pie. This is my new "go to" whipped cream recipe.

(1) 8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

With your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extracts in a large bowl until smooth (scrape sides to make sure you don't have any cream cheese sticking to the interior of the bowl). While the beaters are still running, slowly add the whipping cream (stop a couple times and scrape the bowl). Beat until you get stiff peaks. This makes enough topping to cover a 10" pie generously.

NOTE: Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk in the pie filling (and not evaporated milk).

CHICKEN SOUP FOR A SICK HOUSE

CHICKEN SOUP FOR A SICK HOUSE

CHICKEN RECIPES CLASSIC RECIPES MY ORIGINAL RECIPE SOUP RECIPES

I haven't posted much lately because picky-picky husband and I have had the flu. Not just your every day "better in a week flu", but the old fashioned "don't even get out of your jammies)"flu that has plagued us with lethargy and coughs for almost a month.

Our meals have been simple and mostly from the crock pot (or frozen food entree aisle) but then we haven't had much of an appetite either. Now that we are feeling a little better, I am venturing back into the kitchen.

This chicken soup has been a life saver for us during this time. I just keep it going in the slow cooker, adding a little more broth and veggies when necessary. It is a super simple recipe and if your family is coping with this ugly flu, like we are, I hope you will give this magic "elixer" a try.

6 large boneless-skinless chicken thighs (dark meat has the best flavor)
1 cup chopped onion (I like to use sweet onions)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 quarts of good chicken stock (I use the boxed kind)
1 tablespoon chicken bullion granules
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of poultry seasoning
2 cups favorite veggies (I use frozen mixed veggies)
spaghetti or fettuccine noodles (they hold up better than other noodles)

Cube and brown the chicken thighs in a tablespoon of oil until you get brown crusty spots on the chicken. Remove from pan and put it into the crock pot. In the same pan, saute the onion, celery and carrot until they get a little soft. Use a spatula and use the moisture in the veggies to de-glaze any crusty bits left in the bottom of the pan. Add this mixture into the crock pot ; those crusty brown bits in the pan are PACKED with chicken flavor.

Add the broth, 2 cups favorite veggies, bullion granules and salt and pepper. Stir and cook on high for about 6 hours, stirring once in a while. Half an hour before you serve this soup, break the noodles into 4" pieces and put into hot broth and stir. The noodles should be ready to eat in about 30 minutes.

NOTE: I have tried many different kinds of noodles in this soup. Spaghetti seems to hold up the best without turning to mush if you are cooking the soup for a long time or overnight. I also use rice instead of noodles, however, DO NOT put the rice into the soup because after a short while, it will deteriorate and make your soup a mushy mess. Instead, make the rice SEPARATELY and put a big spoon of it in your soup bowl and ladle the soup OVER the rice. It only took me about 10 years to figure this trick out.

NOTE: Any cut of chicken will work in the soup, however, the dark meat gives the most flavor and after 6 hours, it will still be very moist and "fall apart" tender.


NOTE: Any kind of veggies can be used for the "favorite veggies" part. Just make sure you use veggies that will stand up to long cooking. I usually use a frozen veggie mixture that has peas, corn, green beans and carrots, but anything will work (just don't used canned veggies).

NOTE: Homemade chicken broth is best, but I never seem to have any when I want to make this soup, so I use a good quality BOXED chicken broth (just don't use bullion and water to make broth because it will be too salty).

GREAT PIE CRUST

GREAT PIE CRUST

CLASSIC RECIPES PIE RECIPES

A We have all made (and eaten) pie crusts that are flavorless, flat tasting, sort of soggy and, little more than something "necessary" to hold the fruit filling, ha ha!! Well, that does NOT describe today's classic pie crust.

This pie crust is absolutely delicious. It makes three single crust pie shells and bakes up very flaky, very flavorful and very tender. Picky-picky husband RAVED about this pie crust (and he is NOT a rave kind of guy, if you know what I mean).

This dough is extremely easy to work with and because there is a little sugar in it, it bakes to a beautiful deep golden color. You will NOT be disappointed with this pie crust recipe!!

Click on this photo to get a better look at the pie crust.

4 cups all purpose flour
1¾ cups butter flavored Crisco
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ cup cold water

Mix the flour, sugar and salt, then cut the butter flavored Crisco into it with a pastry cutter (or two forks) until the mixture is crumbly.

Whisk the egg into the cold water, then pour it into the dry mixture. Mix till everything is moistened but do not overwork it.  Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes before you roll it out.

The recipe calls for chilling the dough for 30 minutes, but I don't find that is necessary.  Roll out the dough and use it in your favorite pie recipe.

NOTE: I always brush my top crust with a mixture of 1 egg white whisked with a tablespoon of cold water. Whisk it thoroughly, then brush your top crust with just a little bit of it, then sprinkle with granulated sugar before you bake it.

CLASSIC SPLIT PEA SOUP

CLASSIC SPLIT PEA SOUP

CLASSIC RECIPES SOUP RECIPES

We have lots of snow and it was five below zero a couple nights ago. That can only mean one thing; it is hot soup season!! I love having a pot of soup on the stove (or in the slow cooker) all weekend.  This is a great classic recipe for split pea soup; it is  quick, easy, packed with flavor and one of our favorite soups.

¾ pound smoked ham, cubed
1 cup onion chopped (I like Vidalia or sweet onions)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 pound dried split peas (rinsed)
2 quarts chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons salt (see important note below)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cream (or half and half)

In a large stock pot, saute onion, celery and carrots together in a tablespoon of vegetable (or canola) oil for a few minutes (they don't have to be cooked all the way through).

Add the split peas, chicken stock, potatoes, ham, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly (covered) for about an hour or until the peas are very soft (stir occasionally).

Now you have to process the soup in a food processor or blender (stick blenders don't work very well for this), so work in small batches, processing the soup until very smooth and thick.

Return the soup to the stock pot and add the cream (or half and half). Stir well and reheat , but don't boil.  When you serve it, top it with some crisp fried bacon (optional). I like to decorate each bowl with a rolled up slice of bacon (looks like a "bacon rose" lol).
NOTE: Don't automatically add the 2 teaspoons of salt before you consider the following.  If you are using home made chicken stock that has not been salted, go ahead and use the 2 teaspoons of salt.

If you are using a soup base, like McCormicks soup base (a fantastic product), well it has salt in it (but not as much salt as bullion).

If you use this, I would use only ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt.  If you are using regular bullion, leave the salt out all together and taste the soup just before serving to check for salt content.

CLASSIC APPLESAUCE CUPCAKES

CLASSIC APPLESAUCE CUPCAKES

CAKE RECIPES CLASSIC RECIPES

I have been making these cupcakes for my kids since they were little. They all have teenagers of their own now, so, lets just say the recipe has been in our family a while. It is a simple, one bowl recipe, that produces a moist and flavorful cupcake in short order.

NOTE: Baking times for using this recipe in a 9" x 13" pan, a 9" square pan, or (2) 8" or 9" layers and cupcakes are at the bottom of this post.

2½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
1½ cups applesauce
½ cup water (I use apple juice)
½ cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
2 eggs
1 cup raisins (I use golden)
½ cup chopped walnuts

Beat all ingredients (except raisins and nuts) in a large bowl with an electric mixer (on low) for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Then beat on high for 3 minutes. Stir in raisins and nuts and pour into greased and floured pans. It is just that quick and easy!!

NOTE: If you want to make half of this recipe (my mother used to call them "snack cakes"), just cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9" square pan.

BAKING TIMES
9" x 13" pan = bake for 60 to 65 minutes
(2) 8" or 9" layers  = bake for 50 to 55 minutes
9" x 9" snack cake = 50 to 55 minutes
cupcakes = 20 minutes  (makes 3 dozen)

A toothpick, inserted in baked cake should come out clean when the cakes are done.