My Favorite Cookie of 2011

I've just rolled the last batch of snickerdoodles...ALONE. The factory workers went on strike and really, I can't blame them. This year they produced nearly 500 snickerdoodles. So, when one more batch was requested by the Chief Elf, I decided to go it alone.

Before that final batch of snickerdoodles was produced, however, I happened on to another type of cookie that piqued my interest. My favorite cookie of 2011 is a fun twist on a cookie that we all know and love, the Peanut Butter Blossom.{Recipe for Peanut Butter Blossoms pictured below HERE}

I have never made Peanut Butter Blossoms, they are my sister's signature cookie, and mine will never be as tasty or as perfect as hers, so...I found a cookie that will look adorable on the cookie platter with the Peanut Blossoms on my mom's cookie platter. Enter the White-Chocolate-Kissed Ginger Cookie.

This little bite of heaven is brought to you by the McCormick Spice folks and if anyone knows ginger cookies, I figure it should be the good people of McCormick.

Unfortunately, making this cookie required still more rolling of cookie dough into sugar just like ye old snickerdoodle. My chances of getting help with this cookie? Slim. Very. Slim.

What is a girl to do?

The first thing to do, of course, was to make the dough and get it into the fridge while I looked for a helper that was not yet cookied-out.

Here's what you'll need:
{Printable Recipe From McCormick Here}

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sulfured molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 bag of Hershey's Hugs (white & milk chocolate swirled kisses)

Here's what to do:

First, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to blend well.

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine butter and brown sugar. Mix until fluffy.

Add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until combined.

Shape the dough into a thick, flat disc and place in plastic wrap in the refridgerator for at least an hour.

While you are waiting for dough to chill, preheat the oven to 350˚ then send out a request for help baking because after the dough is chilled, it will be time to roll those ginger cookies in sugar.

My one volunteer. She loves baking with her mamma playing in sugar!

Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls and then roll in sugar.

Place cookies in oven and while they are baking, remove the wrapping from the chocolates.

Bake the ginger cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until they just begin to brown and crack a bit. Cookie should spring back a bit when touched when finished baking.

Remove cookies from oven and immediately press chocolates into their center.

After all chocolates have been placed, quickly remove cookies to cooling rack to prevent as much melting of chocolate as possible.

Let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes, or until chocolate is well set.

Share a cookie or two with your helper and enjoy!

NOTE: 

Other cookies we've made and like this year include...

{Click on Cookie's Name for Recipe link}

Cranberry Coins

(Photo Credit: MSLO)

Paradise Macaroons

Italian Polenta Cookies

Cranberry Thumbprints

And...one last one we hope to get to make tomorrow...

Rudolph Cookies!

{Photo credit: Ladies Home Journal}

Happy Baking!

Tortilla Soup for the Less Adventurous Crowd

Today...dreary, chilly, damp.

Soup and crusty French bread...necessary.

Soup of the day...Chicken Tortilla.

Challenge...my Man does not like tomatoes, a main ingredient in this dish. Or onions. Or peppers.

Happily, my Man loves chicken in soup AND he's a big fan of tortilla chips.

Everything else...well, I can work around it, right?!

You'll need:
(Printable Recipe here)

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon canola or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced garlic
juice of 1/2 lime or 1 Tablespoon bottled lime juice
4-5 cups chicken stock (or 3 - 14 oz cans)
2 cups bottled salsa (shhhhhh don't tell)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
4 oz tortilla chips (for about 2 1/2 crushed)
shredded cheese for garnish

**other ingredients as desired like: sour cream, chopped avocado, guacamole, sliced black olives, jalapenos, black beans...what ever you might add to a plate of nachos!

Here's what to do...
First, pour oil into skillet and heat. While oil heats, cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Add chicken pieces to skillet and sprinkle cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper over chicken.

Add minced garlic to the pan and stir chicken and garlic. Squeeze or pour lime juice over chicken as it finishes cooking.

Pour entire contents into a dutch oven (soup pot) and return to heat. Next, add chicken broth and salsa UNLESS...you are cooking for anyone who may not enjoy tomatoes, onions, green chilies or peppers. If you have such a person at your table, add the salsa to a blender or food processor and puree.

This adds the flavors without all of the objectionable textures.

"Hello...Dad? Mommy just added a whole bunch of salsa to dinner!!"

Add contents of blender to soup pot along with the frozen corn and bring soup to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed (add salt, pepper, lime juice etc).

Crumble tortilla chips into bottom of soup bowls and add soup. Add cheese, and any other toppings desired.

Serve with crusty bread or corn bread. Enjoy!

My Man declared this a Do-Over and said that the level of heat in the soup was just right for him. Next time, however, I'm adding a bit of Texas Pete to my bowl!

My Oh My Spaghetti Pie!

It happens 100% of the time. We have spaghetti for dinner, everyone eats until their bellies are full and then I have extra pasta and extra sauce staring up at me.

Often, I will just shove the extras into the fridge and plan on eating "Left Over Lunch" later in the week. And while all of this looks good on paper at the time, it rarely pans out and the pasta ends up being lost in the back of the fridge only to be discovered along side of the sauce in all of its fuzzy green glory many weeks later.

The solution = Spaghetti Pie (Possibly one of my first "Do Overs" as a young married gal.)

Here's what you need:
(Printable recipe here)

• Cooked spaghetti (about 4 ounces, but you can use a little more or less according to your leftover amount)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups spaghetti sauce  (if the sauce has no meat, add some ground beef if you choose, that's up to you...you're in charge!)
• 1 cup of cottage cheese (or, ricotta cheese)
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

**This is another one of those versatile dishes, you can add pepperoni, olives, etc.

Here's what to do:

Melt the butter in a pie plate. 

Then to the pie plate add the cooked pasta.

When butter has cooled enough NOT to cook the eggs, add the eggs.

 Combine until the spaghetti is evenly coated with butter and eggs and loosely press into the pie plate.

(I use my hands to do that, gooey--but it works well.) 

Next, grab the cottage cheese or, as in this picture, the ricotta and spread it on top of the pasta.

Follow with the sauce ...

and the mozzarella and any other desired ingredient. 

(Please note technique...it is important to stick out your tongue while placing the cheese. 

This will also serve to hide some of your Kool Aid mustache!)

Now, you have a choice, you can either serve this up immediately (my Man says that this qualifies as an entirely different meal than simple spaghetti and sauce, I however, am of a different opinion), or freeze it at this point.

To bake: 350 for 20-25 minutes. Don't over bake the spaghetti pie or the noodles will dry out and be tough.

To freeze: Cover with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Make certain to add a label and the cooking instructions so that you: 1) don't cook the plastic--not pretty, or 2) have to stop your meal making momentum and send out a search team to look for the cooking instructions before you can pop it into the oven.

From frozen, bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes until cooked through.  I like to insert a butter knife directly into the center to check for doneness. If you remove the knife and it is very hot to the touch, it's done. If not give it more time and check again in about 10 minutes or so. You can also set the dish out on the counter an hour or so before you want to bake it and let it defrost a bit.

Enjoy your spaghetti pie and that wonderful sense of accomplishment you must feel by NOT letting good food turn green!!

Salad Caprese

When I was in the process of ordering school books when this cookbook...

(which is the next in the series of cookbooks I've raved about here and here and here), jumped into my virtual shopping cart and arrived on my doorstep amongst science books, history books, and butterflies.

Yes butterflies, real ones, live ones, caterpillars actually. More on that kettle of fish butterflies in another post.

Would you believe that this lovely cookbook had in it the first occurrence of the recipe for Grape Salad, the very first recipe I posted here at The Wright Place, that I've ever seen in a real, live cookbook?

It wasn't the Grape Salad that caught hold of my taste buds tonight though. Tonight we made Salad Caprese with tomatoes from friends, basil from beneath our solitary tomato plant, and fresh mozzarella from the grocery store as well as a few other simple ingredients.

Salad Caprese hails from the Italian island of Capri and is a staple on most Italian menus.

Ingredients:

(Printable recipe here)

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
(I found it already formed in to little "pearls" which worked very well)
3-4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped into 1 inch pieces
a scant, scant 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (I used canola oil)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 or 3 or 5 leaves fresh basil, chopped

First into the bowl, the cheese "pearls."

Next, the seeded tomatoes. 

(If you're like me and have never taken the time or effort to seed tomatoes before, let me enlighten you. I Googled it, so I know now. You simply cut the tomato into quarters and either use a spoon to remove the seeds, or squeeze the quarters until all of the seeds and much of the juice squirts out. Then just cut the tomato as directed! Who knew?)

Now you're ready for the basil,

the minced garlic,

the salt and pepper, and the oil and vinegar.

All done!

Serve at room temperature.

Simple, pretty, fresh.

Salad Caprese!

Don't ya just love eating in another language?

"Easy-Peasy" Black Bean and Corn Dip

Hear the marching bands warming up? Feel the tiny bit of crisp in the air? It's THAT time again!! We'll all be in need of some fine football food and here's Cole's contribution...

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

(Printable Recipe HERE)

 (a recipe for which he calls Aunt Sudeana frequently because we always loose the sticky note!)

This salsa is not at all hot, it's more along the lines of a sweet and sour and tastes super on tortilla chips but is especially wonderful on pita chips as well.

Here's what you'll need:

1 can of corn (drained)

1 can of black beans (drained)

2-3 green onions (just the green parts, chopped)

8 oz. feta cheese*

1/4 cup of oil (we like canola) 

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vinegar

Here's what to do:

Mix the drained corn and beans, the onions, and the feta cheese. 

Next combine the oil, sugar, and vinegar well. Finally add the oil mixture to the corn mixture. 

Mix well and...

start dippin!

*Note: If you don't like feta cheese, you should probably give it a try in this dip anyway, it takes on such a different flavor. If you just can't fathom using feta cheese, just leave it out, it'll still be yummy.

Happy Football Season!!

Hey!! I Made YOGURT!!

My friends think I've gone a bit overboard. Perhaps I have...but sometimes overboard is a fun place to hang out. It all started when I was listening to a podcast in which a woman mentioned that her family made its own yogurt. Then I remembered seeing a segment on Martha Stewart where a lady "taught" Martha how to make yogurt and I didn't think it looked too involved or complicated. Soooooo I did what all modern home cooks do...I Googled it.

No fewer than 1.5 million hits later, I found an acceptable "Yogurt Primer" on a blog called Keeper of the Home. I decided to give it a go. I grabbed my prairie skirt, donned my bonnet, tied on my apron, followed the recipe, and met with success.

My excitement knew no limits. I've talked way too much about yogurt to my friends (who already suspected that I'm a bit nuts), and to my family (who knew I was nuts long ago), and to my poor hubby (who knows better than to go on record about his wife's nutso condition). And so...to end my yogurt yammerings, I'll pass on my newly acquired knowledge...it's the only cure I'm afraid. Please bare with me.

Here's how I made HOMEMADE Yogurt...

You will need:

• 4 cups of milk - you can use any kind of milk. I used whole milk for the first batch and am using 1% for this one.
• 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt with ACTIVE Cultures. (Dannon works well and so does any generic brand)
• a crock pot 
• a heavy towel or two

That's it-- no foolin'! Two ingredients. See, it's already easier than you thought, huh? You may wonder why it is necessary to use yogurt to make yogurt. The active yogurt is the starter. You only need 2 tablespoons of active yogurt to make 4 cups of HOMEMADE yogurt. After you have your very OWN yogurt, just reserve as much starter as you need to make your next batch, should you choose to do so.

While there are only two ingredients in homemade yogurt, there are more than a few very easy steps involved in the process.

First, in a medium to large sauce pan, heat the milk to 185 degrees which will be just when the milk begins to come to a full bubble. I like to use my candy thermometer ($10 at most stores like Target or Walmart) for this step.

While waiting for the milk to heat do three things:

1. plug in your crock pot and turn it on low to preheat,

     2. remove the starter yogurt from the fridge and measure it into a small bowl (like a cereal bowl),

     3. draw cold water into the sink or a large bowl to place your heated milk pan into.

Once the milk has reached 185 degrees,

place a lid on the sauce pan and transfer it into the cold water bath.

Make sure the water cannot get into the milk. Let the milk set until it cools to somewhere between  90-110 degrees. This takes about 10 minutes. Again, you can use the candy thermometer for this, or you can dip a clean finger into the milk. If you burn your finger, it's still too hot. If you don't have to jerk your finger out of the milk, presto...it's ready.

Remove a small amount of cooled milk, about a cup or so, and pour it into the bowl with the yogurt starter and mix well.

Pour BOTH the small bowl and the rest of the cooled milk into your preheated crock pot and stir gently.

Place the lid onto the crock pot and immediately unplug it.

This next step is a smidge odd, but ultra necessary and easy. Cover the crock pot completely with a thick towel or two.

The next step is my favorite one. Walk away for 8-10 hours. If you make this in the evening while you are cleaning up the dinner dishes, this means that you literally go to bed and sleep while the yogurt makes itself, or as we seasoned yogurt makers say, while the yogurt cultures.

When 10 hours or so has elapsed (longer is fine), wake up and tell your fresh yogurt--your HOMEMADE yogurt-- Good Morning!

After the culturing process is complete, set your crock pot (or inner part of the crock pot if yours is the kind with a removable bowl) into the fridge for the yogurt to cool.

Don't jostle it around much if you can help it. Just let it set peacefully. This allows the yogurt to become nicely firm and creamy. Let it cool for at least 4-5 hours or so (the longer the better).

Now, you've got yogurt--HOMEMADE yogurt, I know how excited you must feel! You'll want to dip it out into sealed containers for storing conveniently in your refrigerator. Don't forget to set aside some starter yogurt for the next batch if you're so inclined.

The yogurt-- the HOMEMADE yogurt-- is not sweetened like the flavored yogurts you may be used to. One of the perks of making your own is that you can sweeten it exactly as you wish with sugar, honey, artificial sweetener, or the peach jam you made from the South Carolina peaches you received earlier in the summer.  You can choose whatever fruit you have on hand, or no fruit at all! Other toppings include granola, your favorite dried cereal, wheat germ, the list is endless!

You can make as large of a recipe as you wish. Simply use 1 Tablespoon of active yogurt per 2 cups of milk. Generally the yield of yogurt is equal to the amount of milk you used.

In addition to avoiding all of the additives and preservatives that come in "store bought" yogurt, there is a huge cost savings in making your own. Last week I purchased 1/2 gallon of milk for a pricey $2.62 and the 32 ounce tub of plain generic yogurt for $2.18 of which I used only 28 cents worth which brings my total investment in ingredients to $2.90.

From my investment, I made 64 ounces of yogurt, the equivalent of nearly 11 of the 6 ounce containers sold at the grocery store. Those 6 ounce containers are around $0.60 cents each or $6.60 for 11.  Compare 60 cents per container for brand name yogurt to 26 cents for an equal amount of homemade yogurt and you can see why it's well worth my crock pot's time and a bit of my energy to do this for myself.

One of my favorite reasons to make homemade yogurt is that my kids are fairly impressed that their mom can actually make one of their favorite breakfast/snack foods. They've no clue about the yummy muffins I'm going to make this week using yogurt as an ingredient (stay tuned). They also don't know that there's a future science lesson about how that crock pot "makes" the yogurt!

If you'd like to read even more about yogurt, click here for a link to Dr. Sears' EXCELLENT online article called "10 Reasons Yogurt is a Top Health Food." He highlights many reasons why yogurt is super for all of us, but especially for growing children and for senior adults.

Here's to being more cultured!!

Click here for printable recipe...