Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

I tried multiple attempts to post a picture but I couldn't get it to work. This is a recipe for a chocolate cookie topped with a Hershey's candy cane kiss. Yummy!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookie

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. real butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet (I used a small scoop by pampered chef and it made 36 cookies). Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers are set but still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden.

Gingerbread Cookies

This is a traditional recipe at our house. Every year we make them. These are a mild soft version of the gingerbread cookie. I don't like the hard spicy ones. But these are awesome! If you want them spicier, just add more of the ginger, cloves, cinnamon.

3 1/2 C. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 t. ginger
1 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. allspice
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. softened butter
3/4 C. molasses
2 eggs

Mix all dry ingredients together in small bowl. Cream butter, molasses, eggs and butter in mixer. Then add in dry ingredients. Mix well. I almost always end up adding about another 1/8 c. flour or so when I see the dough. It should be handled without too much stick. Chill for several hours. Roll out on well floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out with cookie cutters. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 8-10 min. 350 degrees. Watch carefully, don't overbake. You want them soft and chewy! Frost with royal icing and decorate. Or as my family is doing now, eat when fresh out of the oven! They make the house smell so good too. Makes about 3-4 dozen.

Sloppy Joes

This is a staple at our house. It is the only version of sloppy joes that we will eat. My mom's recipe.

1 pound lean ground beef, browned
1 can Campbells chicken gumbo soup
ketchup
mustard

I never measure, I just squirt and taste, squirt and taste. Use hamburger buns or hoagie rolls. Make tator tots or fries, a salad and it is an easy meal!

PS-I do have a hard time finding that soup. I emailed Campbells and found out Target carries it so that is where I have to get mine. None of my grocers here do.

Corn Flake Christmas Wreaths

1/3 cup margarine or butter
1 package (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows
1 teaspoon green food coloring
6 cups Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal
Red cinnamon candies or red M&M's


Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring.

Add KELLOGG'S CORN FLAKES cereal. Stir until well coated.

Portion warm cereal mixture evenly by using a 1/4 cup dry measure coated with cooking spray. Using sprayed fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies.

GUACAMOLE

Amy - Here is the recipe you gave me. I can never find the recipe, so I figured I might as well post it here. I made it last night, and it was so good again.

GUACAMOLE

6 avocados
1/2 orange
2 limes
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 Serrano pepper
1/4 bunch cilantro
1-2 tsp salt

*Mash avocados in a bowl - keep pits in to save the color. I like to leave it a little chunky, but you can mash it to whatever consistency you like.
*Finally chop the garlic, Serrano pepper, and cilantro.(I use my food processor - Amy uses her slap chop)
*Add chopped mixture to avocados
*Squeeze juice from the limes and orange into mixture
*Mix all together - and add the salt to taste

Enjoy!! But beware, it is addicting.

Pecan Pie

1/4 C. butter
1/3 C. sugar
1/3 C. brown sugar
1 C. Karo
1/4 t. salt
3 eggs
1 C. pecan pieces
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell

Cream butter to soften. Add sugars and cream until fluffy. Add Karo and salt. Beat well. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla and cinnamon. Fold in pecans. Pour into a shell and bake @ 350 for 50 minutes. It is hard to tell when it is done, jiggle it and it should move a little but not too runny. Don't overbake. It will set up as it cools.

Sweet Potato Casserole

In honor of Thanksgiving!

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes or yams (about 3 med-sized ones)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3 TBS margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1.5 tsp. cinnamon

For topping:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
3 TBS soft margarine

To mash sweet potatoes, first rinse, pat dry, prick and bake @ 400 degrees
for one hour. (or until you can tell the center is soft by inserting a
toothpick) Cut the peeling and scoop out the insides. Mash with a fork.
Mix together potatoes, sugar, salt, eggs, margarine, milk, cinnamon &
vanilla. Pour into greased 9x13 casserole. Bake @ 400 degrees for 20-30
mins. or until firm.

Topping: Mix ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over baked casserole. Bake
an additional 10 mins. @ 400 degrees.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup

1 lb ground Italian sausage ( I used Bob Evans brand, in a tube package)

1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 of a large sweet mild onion, finely diced

4 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 cups water

5 chicken bullion cubes

1 cup heavy cream

5 russet potatoes, cubed

kale

Saute sausage in large saucepan. Drain off fat and refrigerate it while you cook the rest of the soup. In same pan, saute the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes until onions are soft. Add the bacon crumbles. Mix together the water and bullion, then add it to the pan with the onion, garlic, pepper and bacon. Cook until boiling. ( I tasted it at this point and thought it was too salty so I added more water. Next time I will just cut back on the bullion). Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half hour. Add heavy cream and heat through. Add in the cooked sausage. Mix well. Stir in the kale just before serving to soften a little but keep from wilting. Yum!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

• 1 Boston butt or pork shoulder roast
• onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup barbecue sauce, your favorite (I actually used almost an entire bottle of BBQ sauce---just add as much as you want)
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke

Preparation:

Place pork roast in the crockpot; add salt and pepper and a generous sprinkling of garlic powder and onion powder. Cover and cook on low for about 9 to 11 hours, or until very tender and shreddable. Drain all juices off and shred or chop pork; add vinegar and bbq sauce (and liquid smoke, if using). Continue cooking on high for about 1 hour. Serve with buns and tangy coleslaw for topping.

About 8 to 10 generous servings.

Cole Slaw

Mix 1 cup sugar with 1/3 tsp. mustard. After mixed together add 1/3 cup vinegar, 3/4 cup evaporated milk and 1 cup mayonnaise. Mix together and toss with 1 head of shredded cabbage.

This makes a lot! I usually half the recipe.

Yummy Granola Bars

If any of you have a picky eater, you know how important it is when they find something they really like. Especially when said child could use any extra calories they could get. Unfortunately, one of those said foods is not available here in Japan. Cody loves the Sunbelt brand granola bars. We have other brands but they just don't cut it and he has been quite disappointed that we don't have them here (thank you Lauri for sending some). I remembered a couple of months ago a friend of mine (thank you, Katherine!) taught me how to make granola bars. She made them for her family because her son has a peanut allergy. So I decided to give them a try. Let me tell you they were a huge hit! Not only were they yummy but they were pretty easy too. They passed the Cody test!

Granola Bars

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (you can use whole wheat)

½ cup chocolate chips

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F . Line 9x13 glass dish with foil. Spray with Pam.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, flax seed, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. Once cooled wrap individually in plastic wrap.

Notes:
For Peanut Butter Granola bars, add 1/2 peanut butter to the wet ingredients and substitute honey for corn syrup.