Snickerdoodles (without shortening)

There are a handful of things that I do not use in my cooking/baking.
Shortening is at the top of that list.  Grosses me out.
Pretty much all of the snickerdoodle recipes I have seen have shortening in them, so I was really excited to find this one in Rachael Ray.  I'll use real butter all day long.  Three cheers for butter!!!

2 cubes real butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

*Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Roll into golfball-size balls and then roll in a sugar/cinnamon mixture (1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon).  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until edges are slightly brown.

Cafe Rio Rice

Living in New York is a lot different than living in Arizona. There aren't grocery stores on every corner. Green trees are everywhere which makes for beautiful scenery. All of the houses are old. And there are only 3 mexican restaurants in our city! 3. What's up with that? These New Yorkers are into Italian. Whatev. And the hubby and I LOVE mexican food. So, we had to take matters into our own hands and make our own. We did the whole Cafe Rio spread for Sunday dinner and it was heavenly. Not that I think Cafe Rio is real mexican food, cause I don't. But it did the job. We have posted most of the Cafe Rio recipes on here except the rice. So here you go!

4 cups water
2 cups rice
4 tsp. chicken bouillon or 4 cubes
1 can green chilies
4 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped finely
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. butter
juice of 2 limes

Bring water to a boil. Add all ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer on medium for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Nat and I were having a conversation recently about our fabulous Aunt Annette and all the good food she makes us when we visit her in Utah.  We were shocked when we realized that none of us had ever put these simple-yet-amazing brownies on Betty. So here you have it...one of Annette's signature desserts.

1 chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 bag chocolate chips

*Make pudding as directed on box.  Stir in cake mix and chocolate chips and mix well.  Spread into a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Mexican Corn Chowder with Cornbread Muffins

I'm back!! After having a baby then moving across the country, I am finally getting back into my groove. I love my new kitchen! I have a gas stove that I have loved cooking on. Still getting used to the grocery stores around here. I want to give Rach a huge thanks for keeping Betty afloat during my absence!
Anyways, here are two recipes I tried tonight for dinner. It's already chilly here in New York so soup and cornbread sounded good. The soup was easy and delish! Just the right amount of spice and the perfect amount of creamy. The cornbread muffins were very simple and tasted great with the soup! Just what we needed for a cool, Fall night.

Mexican Corn Chowder:

1 lb. chicken tenderloins, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 Tbs. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup hot water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp. cumin
2 cups half and half
1 can cream style corn
1 can green chilies
1 can diced tomatoes or 1 tomato chopped
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

In a large saucepan, brown chicken, onion and garlic in butter until chicken is no longer pink. Dissolve the bouillon in hot water. Add to pan along with cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half and half, cheese, corn, chilies and can of tomatoes(if using canned). Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Stir in chopped tomato(if using fresh). Serve immediately.

Corn muffins:

2/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil
1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients then add oil and milk until just moistened. Spoon into muffin tins sprayed with Pam. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Makes 8 regular sized muffins and 24 mini-muffins.

Peach Season!!!

I just got my first box of Utah peaches!!
That means we will be eating peach this and peach that and peach everything for the next couple of months.  Not to mention slicing them up on our pancakes, waffles, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt and ice cream.  I look forward to this all year!

Here are a few recipes from the past couple of years that involve peaches:

*Jam
*Cobbler
*More cobbler
*Peach crisp
*Smoothie

Go get yourself a box of peaches and enjoy the goodness!!

CREAM CHEESE APPLE GALLETE

I combined a cream cheese, apple pie recipe and an apple gallete recipe to come up with this recipe. It was actually delicious and I served it at a ladies luncheon with caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled over the slices. It could also be served with ice-cream. It really is easy--don't let the pie crust fool you. This recipe makes 2 galletes.

2 nine inch pie shells (unbaked--recipe follows)

1/3 c. shortening
1/3 c. butter (should be fairly cold-not softened)
1 t. salt
2 c. flour
8 T. cold water
Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. With pastry cutter, cut shortening and butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cold water and mix with a fork until it forms a dough. Do not overmix. Place in refrigerator while preparing filling ingredients.

Filling:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese-softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
Mix in small bowl and set aside

Peel, core and slice 4 c. apples (Granny Smith or whatever you prefer. I like Gala)
3 T. butter
1/3 t. cinnamon

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add apples and cinnamon. Stir until apples are slightly cooked and tender, about 5 minutes.

Divide pie dough in half and roll each into a cirlce (that would fit a 8-9 inch pie plate). Spread 1/3 the cream cheese mixture in the middle of each pie dough, leaving about 1 1/2 inches around the edge. Remove apples from pan with slotted spoon (to drain them) and spread half of them on top of cream cheese mixture. Fold the 1 1/2 inch dough over apples, overlapping at intervals (see photo). Repeat with second pie dough and apples.Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet or non-stick cookie sheet. **NOTE: You will have about 1/3 the cream cheese mixture left over. I just discard.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Cut into 6 wedges.

Zucchini Frittata

I think breakfast just became my favorite meal of the day.

Fresh basil first thing in the morning? Sign me up!

I felt so fancy eating this for breakfast and BC said he felt like he was eating breakfast at a resort. (We don't get out much).

My kids took one look and said no way, but it was only enough for two people anyway, so la ti da.

It tasted so deluxe and don't even get me started on the smell. 

H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y.

1 zucchini, finely grated

4 eggs

1 medium tomato, sliced thin

8 or so small basil leaves

2 Tbs. fresh parmesan, grated

fresh ground pepper

dash of salt

*Preheat broiler and place rack 12 inches from heat.  Beat eggs in a bowl and set aside.  Heat a skillet on stove over medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray and saute zucchini until tender (2 minutes).  Pour in beaten eggs and cook, without stirring, until eggs are mostly set (3 minutes).  Arrange tomato and basil on top.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Then sprinkle with parmesan.  Place skillet in oven under broiler until eggs are golden and cheese is bubbly (3-5 minutes).  Let sit for a few minutes in skillet before serving.

*Found this recipe in the Arizona Republic.

*FYI: You may or may not know that my sister, Holly (founder and CEO of Becoming Betty), had a new baby boy and moved across the country to New York.  That's why she has been M.I.A.  I expect great things from her now that she is settled in her new (really cute) kitchen back in Albany.  Let's see some of those East Coast recipes, Holl!!

Restaurant Coleslaw

We had a church social the other night and my assignment was to bring coleslaw.  I'm not a huge coleslaw lover, but I was determined to find a crowd-pleasing recipe.  I scoured the recipe universe online and found this easy recipe on Allrecipes.  It had lots of good reviews and a promise that it tasted like restaurant slaw.  I liked the way it turned out and it tasted even better the next day after it had been swimming around in the juices all night in the fridge.

1 bag (16 oz.) coleslaw mix
2 Tbs. diced onion
2/3 cup creamy salad dressing (like Miracle Whip)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

*Combine coleslaw mix and onion in a large bowl.  Whisk together the other ingredients really well and pour over slaw.  Toss well to coat.  Chill for at least a few hours or overnight.

Enchilada Lasagna

Two of my favorite things...together in one recipe!
It's like a happy food marriage.
We loved this dish and will definitely be adding it into our dinner rotation.

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can stewed tomatoes (14 oz.)
1 can red enchilada sauce (10 oz.)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
3 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
4 flour tortillas, cut in half

*Brown beef with onion and garlic.  Add tomatoes, enchilada sauce and cumin.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  In a separate bowl, combine egg and cottage cheese.  In a 9X13 pan, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce.  Layer with 1/2 of cheese, 1/2 of tortillas and 1/2 of cottage cheese.  Repeat layers and sprinkle with a little more cheese.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes covered with foil and 15 minutes uncovered.

*A couple of our kids didn't like the tomato chunks, so next time I might try tomato sauce or tomato soup in the meat mixture.

Rosemary Potatoes

This recipe is for my rosemary-loving sister-in-law, Sherri.
So easy and so flavorful.
The house smelled really good while these were roasting in the oven.

red potatoes
olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh rosemary
garlic powder (or real garlic)

*Cut up potatoes into bite-size pieces. Put into a mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Snip off as much rosemary as you like onto potatoes. Sprinkle some garlic and mix potatoes up really well in bowl. Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 35-45 minutes, depending on how many you make.

*Does anyone know how to write above the picture now that Blogger has changed their format???

Bear Cookies

How cute is this bear cookie that Wyatt made at his preschool open house today?! So cute. Leave it to his darling teacher, Christie, to come up with such a cute idea. I had to share since us moms are always looking for treats that are easy, cheap and cute.

round sugar cookies

Nilla wafers

m&m's

chocolate frosting

*If you need a good sugar cookie recipe, click here.

*If you need a good chocolate frosting recipe, click here.