An amazing sugar cookie recipe

I just have to share this recipe with you all. It delicious, easy, versatile, and did I mention delicious?!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

1½ C sugar
1 C butter (softened)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
3½ C flour
1 tsp baking powder

In a mixing bowl cream sugar, butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
Add egg and flavorings, beat smooth.
Stir together the flour and baking powder, add to creamed mixture and mix thoroughly.

{FOR CUT-OUT COOKIES}

Chill dough. Roll out on surface dusted with a mixture of ½ powered sugar and ½ flour, ¼ to ½ inch thick depending on your preference. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet ( I line with parchment paper) and bake in a 375° oven 8-9 minutes. Watch for the edges to just barely begin to brown. Cool and frost.

{FOR COOKIE PRESS COOKIES}

Divide dough into portions. Force through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375° oven 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Before baking brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with colored sprinkles if desired.

{FOR COOKIE BARS}

Roll out in a Pampered Chef bar pan (a jelly roll pan will also work. Watch closely to prevent over cooking.) Bake in a 350° oven for 30 - 40 minutes.

{FROSTING}

Got leftover frosting in the frig? Heat in the microwave for 10-20 seconds until it becomes soupy (be careful to not burn it.) Add food coloring, if desired. Dip cookies face down in the melted frosting and allow to dry on wax paper. As simple as that!

OR

Mix a lot of Powdered sugar, a little bit of milk, and a splash of vanilla together until you get the perfect glaze. (Sorry for the lack of measurements, I just eyeball it.). Depending on how thick you make it; You can dip the cookies face down and allow to dry on wax paper or spread with a knife on each cookie.

Now go try it out, I promise you will love them. This recipe (and many others) are the reason I have been losing the weight loss challenge. :)

Pasta Fragioli

This is what I served for dinner at our Christmas party Saturday (Which by the way was so much fun). This is SO delicious! Seriously, you need to make it...you won't regret it! And to top it off it tastes just like Olive Garden's version.

Here's what you will need:

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 Cup Carrots, chopped

2-3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 Red or yellow onion, chopped

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can white beans, drained

1 jar spaghetti sauce

4 Cups beef broth or stock (I use one whole box of stock)

2 teaspoons Oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

A splash Tabasco sauce (the recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon but as much as I loved it, my family would not eat it. Now I do a splash or two and then add more to my bowl at the table. Everyone loves it that way.)

1/2 Cup dry pasta (I use the corkscrew ones and brake them in half)

Here's what you do:

*It can be made in the crockpot or the stove top. I tend to use the crockpot but have made it both ways.

*Dump everything but the pasta in a large pot.

*Cook until veggies are tender (in the crock I cook on high for 1-2 hours, then switch to low for 4-5 hours).

*When veggies are tender, add pasta, and bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and cook until pasta is tender (in crock, switch to high, and let work it's magic for about an hour).

*Top with cheese and serve with hard rolls.

ENJOY!!!!

I got this recipe from the A Year of Crockpotting blog and of course tweaked it a bit. Some of her recipes are strange but every once in awhile I come across a keeper like this one.

Turkey and Stuffing Dinner

Are you still surrounded by Turkey leftovers? We are...but I'm not complaining. I purposely buy a turkey that is bigger than we need so that I can stock the freezer with diced turkey to enjoy for months to come. This is my family's most favorite dinner I make with the leftover Turkey. It's a recipe that I came across years ago and tweaked a bit over time. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Here's what you need:

1 2/3 cup hot water
1 pkg. Stove Top stuffing mix (6 oz.)
4 cups chopped cooked turkey (I also use leftover chicken in place of turkey)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10 ¾ oz.)
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag frozen broccoli (14 oz.), thawed & drained (optional)

Poultry seasoning, Parsley, black pepper, basil or whatever fits your fancy that day.

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Add hot water to stuffing, mix in medium bowl, stirring just until moistened. Set aside.
2. Combined soup, milk, cheese, meat, broccoli & any seasonings you desire (I normally do a half a palm full of both the parsley & poultry seasoning, and a few shakes of the others.), pour into 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with prepared stuffing
3. Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. ENJOY!
Note: If you will NOT be adding in broccoli reduce pan size to an 11x7-inch pan.

The Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Here you go girls, the recipe you have been asking for...if you haven't experienced a Monte Cristo you must have one!!!!


THE INGREDIENTS

BATTER
2/3 cup water
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (it calls for white pepper but just use the black pepper in my shaker) 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

SANDWICHES
8 slices white bread
4 slices roasted cooked turkey
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices smoked ham
vegetable oil, for frying

GARNISH
powdered sugar, for dusting
current jelly or raspberry jam, for dipping

HERE'S HOW YOU MAKE THEM:
1. Place water, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and using an electric mixer, mix well at low speed. Add flour and baking powder and mix until batter is smooth. Chill.
2. Make 4 sandwiches, putting cheese between ham and turkey. Cut into fourths and put a toothpick through each quarter. (I personally never use toothpicks as they tend to make things more difficult when pan frying. If you are using a deep fryer then they are a must!)
3. Heat approximately 1/4" of oil in a large frying pan or use a deep fryer with 6" of oil (yuck!). Dip sandwiches in batter to cover all surfaces. fry sandwiches until golden brown, turning as needed.

4. Remove from oil and take out toothpicks (if you use them). Drain on paper towel to remove excess oil. Sprinkle sandwiches with confectioners' sugar. Serve with warm jam for dipping.
ENJOY!!!
TIP: For your children that don't like meat sandwiches, try making them with just cheese. We have done them with White Cheddar & Swiss and they were Delicious!! Experiment and make them your own!

Chocolaty goodness!

Here's a super yummy (& easy) treat. We whipped this up while we work working around the house. It sure was a treat to finish the chores and have a cup of gooey chocolaty goodness waiting for us!

Here's the recipe:

*1 box of your favorite brownie mix (depending on the amount of mugs, you may need a family size or 2 boxes of mix)

*the ingredients needed for the mix

*1 big crockpot (I used my 6 qt.)

*as many mugs as will fit in your crockpot (mine fit 9 small mugs...I think they were perfect, Randy says they needed to be bigger. He's a quarter of a pie kind of guy!)

Here's how you make it:

*Spray mugs with cooking spray and arrange in crockpot

*Make brownie batter according to box directions

*Fill mugs 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter

*Cover crockpot and cook on high 1 1/2 - 3 hours until desired doneness. (I cooked ours for 2 1/2 hrs & some were a little over done for my liking. Next time I will shorted the cook time)*Turn off crockpot and remove lid, let mugs cool

*When mugs are cool enough to be handled, remove, top with ice cream or whip cream and ENJOY!

P.S. I got this idea from the Year of Crockpotting blog. Check it out, you'll find lots of great recipes.

Carmel Corn

During our Labor Day partiness, we made super yummy carmel corn from scratch! It is SO yummy!!!

Warning: it is super addictive and will not last more than a night before your family scarfs it all up!

Here's the recipe:

1 Cup unpoped popcorn (I use 1 1/4 Cups, to cut down the points per serving)

1/2 C butter or marg. (1 stick)

1 C brown sugar

1/4 C light Karo syrup

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

*Pop popcorn & pour into a really big bowl; set aside.

*Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add brown sugar and Karo syrup. Stir constantly and bring to a boil.

*Add salt and let boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

*Remove from heat and mix in baking soda. It will become foamy.

*Pour carmel mixture over popcorn.

*Gently stir popcorn & pile popcorn on to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

*Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour to harden.

*Removed from oven and enjoy

*Store in Ziploc bags, if it even lasts that long!

Easy apple spice cake

1 spice cake mix

1 can apple pie filling

3 eggs

3 T. splenda

1 t. cinnamon

With an electric mixer, mix all ingredients together for 2 mins on low; pour into 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 - 40 minutes. To keep the points low, I top it with fat-free cool whip. Very yummy!!!

Makes 12 servings (with only 3 points per a serving)

Apple dip

Here is a very yummy apple dip. I found it so crazy that Becky Higgins has the same basic recipe on her blog. Guess it goes to prove that it is that GOOD!

Beat together the following:

8oz fat free cream cheese
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C white sugar (I use Splenda)
1 t vanilla extract
2-3 Heath bars crushed

Serve with apple slices (I like Fuji apples with this dip)
Apple Tip: to keep the apples from turning brown, I put them in zip lock bag, put a splash of lemon juice & water, then close the bag & toss. This works every time.

Hey Duane, did you notice the serving dish I used? Yep, that Randy's hot cocoa & toast dish. After begging Randy, he let me use it to serve my apples & dip at enrichment last night. I got many comments on how cool it was & they where so impressed that it was handmade.

The treats

This are the yummy goodies that we gave out this year to our friends & neighbors. My daughter & I spent a whole day baking. We had a lot of fun together but are both glad to be done.

Cranberry-Walnut Cookies

3/4 C butter, softened
1-1/2 C packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel (never measure this, just shredded until you are tired!)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
2 t vanilla (I always use vanilla extract, it is much better)
2-1/3 C whole wheat flour
1-1/2 C chopped toasted walnuts*
1-1/2 C dried orange flavored cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, lemon peel, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in walnuts and cranberries.
2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Cool on cookie sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

*Note: To toast nuts, spread them in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until nuts are slightly golden brown, stirring once or twice.

Pretzel Turtles

Pretzel snaps (the square ones)

Rolo chocolate Candies

Halved Pecans

Spread pretzels on a rimed baking sheet. Unwrap & place Rolos on top of pretzels. Place baking sheet in oven set on the lowest setting (mine is 150 Degrees) & bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven & press a pecan into each Rolo. Let cool & serve.

Becky's Peppermint Fudge

[ fudge layer ]

3 tsp. butter, softened (yes tsp. ... not Tbsp.)

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

6 Tbsp. baking cocoa

1 tsp. milk1 tsp. vanilla extract

[ peppermint layer ]

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. milk

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

1/4 c. crushed peppermint candy (about 10-12 candies)

Line the bottom and sides of a square baking dish with foil. Grease foil with butter; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Chill for an hour until firm. For peppermint layer, beat cream cheese in a small mixing bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, milk and extract. Stir in peppermint candy. Spread evenly over chocolate layer. Chill for an hour or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge from pan. Gently peel off foil and cut into squares. Store in frig for best flavor.

My favorite lunch...

This is what I have almost every day for lunch...doesn't it just look yummy? It is super easy & everyone at my house likes it too...double bonus!

Here is what is in it:

Romaine lettuce

Broccoli coleslaw mix

Asian noodles

Almonds

Chicken (I really like crispy chicken strips but to save points, I some times use grilled chicken)

Sesame Ginger dressing (Randy likes it with Honey Mustard dressing but I don't think it is worth the points)



P.S. For those of you who are waiting for me to post my Christmas treat recipes...I promise I will get it done tomorrow... : )

Russian Tea Cake Cookies

I love to make these because they are SO easy to make & everyone eats them up. This was the famlee treat for the weekend.

1 Cup butter, soft

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 Tablespoons powdered sugar

2 Cups flour

1 Cup chopped walnuts (or pecans...use what you have)

1/2 Cup powdered sugar for decoration after cooking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, cream butter & vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 T powdered sugar & flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in chopped nuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes (they will not be brown). When cool, roll in powdered sugar two times & store in an air tight container.

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

I saw this on Becky Higgins blog and had to try them. I love pumpkin anything and was very surprised at how light & fluffy they are. To make this even better, it is so easy your kids can make them. I altered the recipe to make it WW friendly and have included it below.

1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Cake Flour
Note: always use cake flour when cooking with applesauce to keep the product moist. If using oil use 1 Cup all-purpose flour instead
½ Cup Sugar & ½ Cup Splenda (or 1 Cup Sugar, no Splenda)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ Cup Egg Beaters (or 2 Eggs Beaten)
1 Cup canned pumpkin
½ Cup Unsweetened Applesauce (or ½ Cup oil)
1/3 Cup Chocolate Chips

Mix all ingredients together & pour into 12 paper lined or greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 Degrees for 20 -25 minutes and enjoy.

WW points: 2 muffins = 3 points