Snickerdoodles

Courtesy of Mrs. Sigg on AllRecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr

Yield: 4 dozen

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
• Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Naan

Original recipe courtesy of allrecipes
Makes 14 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour (3 1/2 if using bread maker)
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional, helps make the bread bubble when cooking)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (for brushing)
  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  (Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.) Stir in 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 plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. 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 plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. 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. 

Tip: If cooking in a pan on the stovetop, cover pan with lid to help create bubbles in the naan. Naan should be browned in spots, but majority should be pale in color. Do not overcook or thin parts of bread will become crispy.

Chicken Korma

We really like Chicken Korma and Tikka Masala, and ever since having it from the restaurant down the street, I've wanted to try making it at home. Armed with some extra time and new spices I got in my Christmas stocking, I decided to have a go using some recipes I found online.

The below is a combination of the following two recipes.
- Main Recipe followed is from AllRecipes
- It was slightly adjusted with information found from McCormick's

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cashew halves
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic paste)
  
• 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped (or 1/8 teaspoon ginger paste)
  
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled (or 4 whole and pulled out after)
  
• 1 stick of cinnamon (broken into two pieces)
  
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala    
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Curry Powder
• OR...
  
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or lowfat coconut milk)
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with equal parts water

Directions

1. Place cashews in a small bowl, and pour the boiling water over nuts. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Place garlic and ginger in food processor and blend until smooth; set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok over medium heat. Cook the bay leaves and cinnamon stick in hot oil for 30 seconds. Stir in onion, and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in garlic/ginger paste, and season with garam masala, turmeric, and McCormick Curry Powder (cumin, coriander, chili powder). Stir in chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, place the cashews, along with the water in which they were soaked, and the cream and yogurt into food processor. Process until smooth.
4. Stir the cashew mixture into the chicken and onions. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes.

OPTIONAL...
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Serve over Basmati rice with a side of Naan.

Shakshuka

We use to have a really good recipe we got from The Hummus Place, but we seemed to have misplaced it, and they no longer have the recipe posted on their site. This looked like a promising alternative recipe to try/use as a base.

From: Recipe Zaar 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced and seeded (or more to taste)
• 2 red peppers or green peppers, roughly chopped
• 8 fresh plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes, strained (peeled)
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup canned tomato juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 4 large eggs
• za'atar spice mix, for serving
• 4 pita breads, warmed

 Directions

1. Place large saute pan over medium heat, add and heat oil. Add onion and saute until lightly browned.
2. Add garlic, jalapeno and bell peppers, and saute 2 minutes more.
3. Add fresh and canned tomatoes, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add hot and sweet paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir for 1 minute.
5. Add tomato juice and vegetable broth and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until mixture is very thick and has little liquid left, about 1 hour; stir occasionally to make sure vegetables do not stick to bottom of pan, and add more tomato juice or vegetable broth as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
6. Gently crack eggs into pan, taking care not to break yolks. Simmer until whites solidify but yolks remain runny, about 8 minutes, or as per personal preference (I would put this under the broiler for a couple more minutes because I hate undercooked eggs).
7. Ladle equal portions of vegetables and eggs into 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with zaatar to taste, and serve with warm pita bread.

Pumpkin Chili

• Brown 1 lb. ground beef. Drain.
• Add 1 green pepper and 1 onion, chopped. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Add:1 small can of pumpkin, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans black beans, 1 can white kidney beans, 1 can red kidney beans (all of the above standard size 14-19 oz), 1 can 46 oz. of tomato juice (added to desired consistency), 2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice, 1 TBSP chili powder, 2 TBSP white sugar, 2 TBSP brown sugar, 1 tsp garlic salt.

1. Brown ground beef. Drain.
2. Add green pepper and onion, chopped. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add everything else. Add tomato juice to desired consistency.
4. Simmer 1 hour.

Butternut Squash Soup

Original Recipe from AllRecipes.com
(changes marked in green)

Ingredients
* 6 tablespoons chopped onion
* 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (about one squash)
* 3 cups water
* 4 cubes chicken bouillon
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

Directions
1a. Cut squash in half, remove goop, and bake cut-side down at 375 for 45 minutes.

OR

1b. Cut squash in half and microwave for 8-10 minutes.

OR

1c. Peel and cube the squash. (It's harder to peel uncooked.)

2. In a large saucepan, saute onions until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook until squash is tender (about 20 minutes if starting squash is raw).

3. Puree squash and cream cheese in a food processor in batches until smooth.

4. Put in fridge for later, or return to saucepan to heat for eating. Do not allow to boil.

Vegetarian Chili

From AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 24 oz turkey burger (one pack)
• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Hamburger Patties

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
* 1/2 onion, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup shredded Colby or Monterey Jack cheese
* 1 teaspoon soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 egg
* 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat a grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion, cheese, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, egg, onion soup mix, garlic, garlic powder, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

Try Simple Corn Pudding

Courtesty of NPR

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 or 6 ears of corn, husked (depending on size)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in a baking dish (an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish or iron skillet works well) and slide into the oven so the butter melts while the oven is preheating.

Using a box grater, coarsely grate the kernels off four ears of corn. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels from the remaining ears. Combine the corn kernels, sugar, cream or milk, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Lightly beat the five eggs and add to the mixture.

When the oven has preheated and the butter in the baking dish has melted, carefully tilt the melted butter from the baking dish into the corn mixture and combine with a few swift strokes. Then tilt the buttered corn mixture back into the baking dish.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a golden crust has formed and the interior has set.

Mom's Meatloaf

Courtesy of Mom
2 lbs Ground Turkey
1 lbs Sausage
1 pack French Onion Soup Mix
1/2 C Dried Onion
1/4 C Pepper
2 C Carrots
1 pack Spinach
1.5 C oats
2 Eggs

try cream puffs

Courtesy of Tiffany Sorenson

Puff Pastries:
1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
1 c boiling water
4 eggs

Sift flour with salt. Combine butter and boiling water in saucepan; cook on low heat until butter is melted. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. Cook about 2 minutes until mixture is very dry. Remove from heat. Add unbeaten eggs one at a time, beating well with hand mixer after each addition. Continue beating until a thick dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. (I used a small cookie scoop and it made about 36) Bake at 425 degrees about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. (Mine only baked a total of 25 minutes) Bake about 30-40 minutes total, or until beads of moisture no longer appear on surface. Do not open oven door during early part of baking. Remove to wire racks to cool. When cool, cut slit in side of each puff'; removed doughy centers, if necessary.

Cream filling:
3 c milk
1 large instant vanilla pudding box
8 oz cream cheese
Mix together and fill cream puffs. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

try coffee cake pastry

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/apple-cream-cheese-coffee-cake?WT.dcsvid=MjA5MzgyNzg2MwS2&rvrin=CD0A145D-0A83-DC11-920E-00110A5B41E6&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_Bisquick_09_17_2009

Macaroni Grille Bread

Courtesy of Natasha Brenchley

1 T. dry yeast
1 T. Sugar
1C. Water (105-115')
2 to 2 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 T. FRESH Rosemary minced
2 T. Melted Butter

1. Put yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and allow to become bubbly
2. Mix in salt, rosemary and 2C. of the flour. Knead for 10 min.
3. Oil bowl, place dough in and cover. Let rise until double
4. Divide dough in half and let rest for 5 min.
5. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. shape dough into 2 round loaves
6. brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise until double
7. preheat oven to 450'. Sprinkle loaves with salt
8. Bake 20-25 min or until they are golden brown.
9. Brush with melted butter as soon as you remove them from the oven.

Serve warm and dip in olive oil and balsamic Vinegar.

Oatmeal Bars

1 cube butter
1/4 c oil
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c water
1 tsp vanilla Mix well. Add remaining ingredients.

3 c oats
1 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
Add raisins, nuts or chocolate chips as desired. Mix well.
Bake in a well greased 13 x 9" pan at 350 for about 20 minutes.

try blackberry sauce

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112179487

Italian-style Cream Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 env. unflavored gelatine
• 1.5 cups fat-free half-and-half
• .5 cup granular sweetener
• .5 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups Ricotta or Cottage Cheese (Ricotta = vanilla flavor; Cottage = cheesecake flavor)

Directions

1. SPRINKLE gelatine over 1/2 cup of the half-and-half in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 min.
2. Stir in remaining half-and-half, the granular sweetener and vanilla. Cook on low heat until gelatine is completely dissolved, stirring frequently. (Do not boil.)
3. Add ricotta cheese; cover. Blend until pureed.
4. POUR gelatine mixture into blender or food processor.
5. BLEND thoroughly.
6. Pour evenly into eight 6-oz. custard cups or souffle dishes. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set.

Chiles Rellenos de San Joaquin

Courtesy of here.

Ingredients

• 6 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise, stems and seeds removed
• 1 lbs of ground meat
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 T ground cumin
• 12 ounces cheese

Directions

1. Place chiles skin side up on a baking sheet, and broil until skins blister, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let them burn. You may need to rotate so so more areas of skin will blister.
2. Remove chiles from the oven and place in a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let chiles steam until cool.
3. Remove and discard the skins.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Meanwhile, cook ground beef.
6. Stir in sliced onions and tomatoes.
7. Season with cumin.
8. Put cheese into each chili.
9. Place rolled chiles into a baking dish and top with the meat mixture sauce. Crumble any extra cheese on top of the sauce.
10. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce is bubbly.

Artisan Bread

Courtesy of Kelly

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky (do not knead). Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I used corn meal on the bottom, and half whole wheat flour. I couldn't really tell a taste difference from using all white flour. For some reason, when I baked this it was done after the first 30 minutes with the lid on (I think my oven runs hot). So don't be too surprised if your bread gets done quicker than the recipe says. This makes the crusty bread that you would get at a nice italian restaurant- the kind people dip in balsalmic vinegar and olive oil. Enjoy!

Tostadas

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

1/2 cup Chicken (1.5 breasts)
1/2 t Chili Powder
1/2 t Oregano
1/2 t salt
1/4 t Cumin
8 oz Tomato Sauce

1. Cook and shred the chicken.
2. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat on the stove.

Serve with taco fixings.

Chewy Flour Tortillas

From Texascooking.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1.5 t baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk

Directions

1. Stir together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the salt and vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate.
3. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough. It will be sticky.
4. Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (fold and press, fold and press). The kneading will take care of the stickiness.
5. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)
6. Divide your dough into eight balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes. Avoid letting them touch, if you don't want them to stick together.
7. Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat it into a 5-inch circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, until you have a 7- or 8-inch tortilla a little less than 1/4 inch thick.
8. Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet or griddle. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 30 seconds.
9. Remove the tortilla, place it in a napkin-lined basket and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

Although best eaten right after they are made, these tortillas freeze well. Wrap them tightly in plastic, and they will keep, frozen, for several weeks. To serve tortillas that have been frozen, let them thaw and come to room temperature, then wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them in a warm oven. Microwaving tends to toughen them.

Tips:

• Do not use bread flour. You want flour with a low gluten content.
• You don't want to over-flour your work surface, but you don't want your rolled-out tortilla sticking to it either. Dough adheres less to an unvarnished wood surface (like an old cutting board).
• When rolling out tortillas, dust your rolling pin with flour, and don't be afraid to apply pressure. Flour tortilla dough is pretty sturdy; but not to the point of rerolling. You don't want tough tortillas.
• Be sure to rewrap your fresh tortillas each time you add another to the stack.

Ways to spice up the recipe:
A tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs (like oregano or rosemary)
A teaspoon or so of dried herbs
Freshly ground black pepper
A tablespoon of minced jalapeños
A little garlic powder (or substitute garlic salt for the salt)

Nutrient Per serving (8 tortillas)
Calories — 119.5
Protein (gm) — 4.9
Carbohydrate (gm) — 22.9
Total Fiber (gm) — 3.6
Total Fat (gm) — 1.7