SOFT MAPLE SUGAR COOKIES

Probably not a good idea to make these if you're trying to lose weight.  Or if you don't want to gain weight.  I ate more than I care to admit!  I have a feeling these would be Mom approved as well. ;)

SOFT MAPLE SUGAR COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

·         1/2 cup butter, softened

·         1/2 cup shortening

·         1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

·         1/4 cup packed brown sugar

·         1/4 cup pure maple syrup

·         1 tsp. baking soda

·         1 tsp. cream of tartar

·         1/8 tsp. salt

·         3 egg yolks

·         1/2 tsp. vanilla

·         1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Maple icing

·         1/4 cup heavy cream or milk

·         1/4 cup butter, melted

·         3 tbs. pure maple syrup

·         2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar.

DIRECTIONS:

1.      Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2.     In a large bowl beat butter and shortening with a mixer on medium for 30 seconds. Add the next 6 ingredients (through the salt). Beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Beat in flour.

3.     Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned (tops will still look slightly soft).

4.     Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Remove; cool on a wire rack. Centers will dip as cookies cool. Drizzle with maple icing.

Maple Icing

1.     Stir together 1/4 cup heavy cream or milk with 1/4 cup melted butter and 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. Whisk in 2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar to make icing drizzling consistency.

Recipe from BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS.

Mediterranean Power Salad

I found this recipe at ourbestbites.com... I left out the quinoa/brown rice, but I was brave and left the onion in.  I don't usually do raw onion, but Jeremy loves it and I was pleasantly surprised because it wasn't overwhelming and it all tasted so good together.  I actually didn't add chicken this time either, but I wouldn't be opposed to it in the future.

Mediterranean Power Salad

Prep Time:10 Min

Serves 1

Ingredients

·         3 ounces chicken breast (optional)

·         2 tablespoons Great Northern Beans

·         2-3 slices red onion, finely diced

·         2 tablespoons crumbled feta

·         1 small handful grape or cherry tomatoes

·         4-ish cups crunchy greens (or something like romaine mixed with spinach)

·         2 tablespoons hummus (Sabra roasted garlic flavor)

·         2 tablespoons light balsamic vinaigrette (Kraft olive oil balsamic vinaigrette is great)

Instructions

** I just eyeball the ingredients since this is for a single serving salad!

Mix all ingredients in bowl until hummus is well spread throughout.  Top with dressing.

Magic Milkshakes

These are just kind of a fun and yummy way to use some food storage products! We've tried several flavors and really liked them. These are more of the drinkable kind of milkshake, kinda like a Wendy's Frosty, not the ones that are just ice cream in a cup.
If you happen to have Morning Moo brand powdered milk you'll need less sugar because it's already sweetened (uh, fyi, it's not really milk. It's like kool-aid powdered milk. Too bad I didn't know that before I bought a bunch). I've included the adjustments at the end.

Magic Milkshakes
1 1/2 - 2 c. ice cold water
1 1/2 c. non-fat dry milk powder
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. oil and/or a 5-second squirt or non-stick spray, optional**
ice

Place all of the ingredients in the blender, adding enough ice to make it about 3/4 full. Process for 2 minutes, or until it's thoroughly blended.

**The oil adds creaminess to the shake, so if you want it to be creamy, it needs some fat. The spray has lecithin in it, which is an emulsifier, that helps bind it together. Some people only do the spray to keep the fat content down. I often don't add these and we still like them, but they aren't as creamy. I may try it with coconut oil sometime...

Yield: 4 12 oz servings

Variations:

• Add 1 ripe banana for a chocolate banana shake
• Add a spoonful of peanut butter for a chocolate peanut butter shake
• Add some mint extract or some mint candies for a chocolate mint shake
• Add some orange zest (or orange extract) for a chocolate orange shake 
• To make vanilla shakes: omit cocoa, reduce sugar to 1/2 c. and add 1 T. vanilla. 

Morning Moo adjustments: use 1/3 c. sugar and 3 T. cocoa

Altered from Hillbilly Housewife

Fruit and Cream Cake

I'm making up the name for this recipe because it was originally called "Perfect Party Cake" and that's just too vague. Besides that, I've only used part of the original recipe (the cake) so...
This is delicious with strawberries, but you could certainly use other fruits as well. Lemony cake, whipped cream, fruit... it's hard to go wrong.

Fruit and Cream Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest, optional
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Whipped Cream (probably at least 2 c. of whipping cream)
Sliced strawberries, or fruit of choice

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two round cake pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Continue adding the remaining ingredients, alternating between wet and dry, mixing well after each addition. Beat the batter for 2 minutes to make it fluffier. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and remove them from the pans.

After the cakes have cooled and you've whipped the cream and sliced the fruit, it's time to assemble. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the cakes in half horizontally so that you now have 4 layers. Place one layer on the cake stand, add a thinnish layer of whipped cream and some fruit. Continue layering cake, cream, and fruit until you've added all the layers. You can frost the sides with whipped cream if you want, as well.

Recipe slightly altered from recipegirl.com

Easy Way to Peel Mangoes!!

We bought a box of mangoes from Bountiful Baskets. Yesterday I cut them all into pieces to freeze. Today in the mail I got a little booklet/ad from Smith's (Kroger). It had a great tip on how to peel mangoes, avocados, and kiwi. Just one day late.
But we had 2 left to eat fresh so I tried it and it's awesome!!
After you slice off the two thick sides of the mango, just slip the edge of the glass between the fruit and the peel.

Then you just slide the peel down the cup and voila!

Fabulous!

Hamburger Stroganoff

I have been making this stroganoff recipe for quite awhile and I really like it. There isn't any cream of mushroom soup - it's from scratch - but it's still really quick and easy. Being Sue's daughter, I only use 1/2 lb ground beef, but the original recipe calls for 1 lb.Tonight I added some smoked paprika and it was awesome!

Hamburger Stroganoff

Wide egg noodles (as much as your family needs)
1/2 - 1 lb ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms or 1 small can
2 T. flour
2 tsp. paprika (do one of them with smoked paprika - yum!)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper, optional
1/2 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1/2 c. water
1 c. sour cream

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the mushrooms, flour, and spices. Add water and bouillon to beef mixture. Reduce heat, cook 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream. Serve over noodles.

From Simple & Delicious 2007

Filters

You know when you're supposed to strain something and it's just really hard to get all the icky bits out? And who has oodles of cheesecloth laying around? Well, my friend told me she uses coffee filters to strain things! Brilliant! That's what they're made for! Just pop one into the strainer! I thought it was a fabulous idea to pass along.