Peanut Butter Blossoms

This is a really old recipe from my Grandma, Baca. Not dieter friendly but what GOOD cookie is? At the end you may have to add more egg and milk but it's a judgment call.

Makes about 36

Materials:
*8 oz. package of milk chocolate kisses (I have found that dark chocolate just overpowers the taste of the peanut butter so for once I'll advocate the usage of milk chocolate which is rare folks)

*1/2 c. vegetable shortening
*3/4 c. smooth peanut butter
*1/3 c. granulated sugar
*1/3 c. light brown sugar (MAKE SURE IT'S MOIST!!! IF YOU HAVE DRY BROWN SUGAR IT'S TOTALLY USELESS FOR PRACTICALLY ANY RECIPE--JUST THROW IT OUT)

*1-2 egg(s)
*2 TBSP milk
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*1 1/4 c. flour
*1 tsp. baking soda
*1/4 tsp. salt

more granulated sugar in a small bowl (a cup or so)


Directions:
1.) Combine the peanut butter and shortening in a large bowl. Beat until well blended.
2.) Add 1/3 c granulated sugar and brown sugar, beat until "light and fluffy"
3.) Add 1 egg, milk, vanilla; beat well.
4.) In a separate bowl/cup, add flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

5.) Cover and chill for 1 hour in the refrig.

6.) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees farenheit

7a.) Examine your dough....run your fingers through it. Does dough stick to your hands? Or does it crumble apart? Now take a small bit of dough and make a ball--if it sticks together you should be okay, proceed to step 7b.

If the ball falls apart at any bit of pressure--you have dry dough. It's okay--happens to me too. :) If your dough is too dry/doesn't stick, add 1 more egg and a splash of milk, mix well--no need to refrig. for another hour unless you really want to. Now proceed to step 7b

7b) Shape dough into 1" balls, roll in granulated sugar, place onto UNGREASED cookie sheet.

8.) Cook 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. While you are waiting, unwrap the kisses.

9.) Stop eating the kisses!

10.) As soon as the cookies are out press one kiss into the center of the cookie--cookie will crack a little and that's okay.

11.) Remove from sheet and allow to cool.

Repeat steps as necessary and enjoy. :)

Now for something a little on the lighter side.....

This is a delicious sorbet--yes...lots of sugar (god no wonder I'm fat) but it's quite refreshing.

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon culinary lavender flowers (food grade)
2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons vodka

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Add the lavender flowers; stir until mixture comes to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand approximately 10 minutes.

Place a fine strainer over a large bowl and pour syrup mixture through (straining out the lavender flowers). Add lemon juice and vodka to the strained syrup mixture; stir until thoroughly blended.

Ice Cream Maker - Transfer mixture to ice cream maker, process according to manufacturer's instructions.

Freezer Method - Pour into container, cover, and place mixture in the freezer. When it is semi-solid, mash it up with a fork and refreeze again. When frozen, place in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Cover and refreeze until serving time.

NOTE: Can be prepared 3 days in advance. Cover and keep frozen.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Why VODKA?

The vodka (or any other type of alcohol) is the secret to a soft sorbet. Alcohol itself does not freeze and adding a little bit keeps the sorbet from doing the same. Vodka is excellent to use because it doesn't affect the taste.

Really F*cking Good French Toast

Yes my friends I said f*cking good....

F*cking Fantastic French Toast

(8 servings)

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 8 teaspoon salt
• 8 slices bread
• 8 teaspoons unsalted butter
• Confectioners' sugar
• Maple syrup or cane sugar (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk well.

3. Add the milk, orange juice, orange zest, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, and whisk until well combined.

4. Working quickly, dip each bread slice into the egg mixture in the bowl, turning it to coat both sides with the mixture. Transfer the coated bread slices to a plate while you finish coating the remaining slices.

5. Heat a small skillet over medium heat until hot, about 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in the skillet, then add a slice of coated bread, and cook until the bread is golden brown and crusted on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn with a plastic turner and cook until the second side is golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Transfer the French toast from the skillet to a baking sheet. Cover lightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven to keep warm while you cook the other slices.

8. Repeat with the remaining slices, being sure to add 1 teaspoon of the butter to the pan before every slice.

9. Sprinkle the French toast with confectioners' sugar and serve with maple syrup or cane sugar if desired.

NOTE: Depending on the size of the bread, you may find that there's a bit of batter left over. If that's the case, just go ahead, add a bit more butter to the pan, and cook up another slice or two. If you don't want to eat these today, refrigerate them, tightly covered, for up to one or two days, and reheat in the oven or microwave for a really quick breakfast.

10. After digesting, run about 5 miles at a brisk pace. :)

Another crazy delicious (with shellfish)

Crazy Delicious Stuff Mushrooms

Makes 20...good for a party of 10-ish...assuming all can eat shellfish

• 20 fresh mushrooms, stems removed.
  A word about the mushrooms, get the largest ones possible but DON'T get portobello. I find that going to the produce section and picking out the fresh crimini or baby bella mushrooms is best. Pre-packaged ones are often too small for all the stuffing you make.

Second word: washing mushrooms. DON'T drain them in water, those mushrooms will soak up the water and you'll have mushy mushrooms. Take a paper towel and dampen with water. Take your mushrooms and just rub them with the cloth. Pat dry.

• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams, drained
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons Italian-style seasoning
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups butter, melted
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Arrange mushroom caps hollow side up in the baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together minced clams, garlic, Parmesan cheese, onion, bread crumbs, green bell pepper, parsley, Italian-style seasoning and black pepper. Slowly stir in approximately 1/2 the butter, enough to make the mixture slightly moist.
4. Generously fill the mushroom caps with the clam mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with remaining butter.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

This one should go into the crazy-delicious file

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

• 4-6 cloves roasted garlic
• 1 (10-14 ounce package) fresh spinach, rinsed and drained, chopped
  
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

First roast the garlic: here are the steps to roasting garlic:

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2 Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

3 Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

4 Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

While your garlic is cooling, take your oven down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. Garlic not burning your fingers to the touch? Perfect. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Put garlic into 8x8 baking dish along with spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese. Eat remaining garlic at your leisure.
   
2. Cover top with foil and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Mix the cheesy deliciousness. Serve warm.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadillas

Another recipe that James likes--yes! Another super easy recipe that you can make for lunches/dinner.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 4 wedges and 2 tablespoons salsa)

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 1 large ear)....frozen is fine--just defrost it before hand.
  
• 2/3 cup (5 ounces) goat cheese, softened
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 1 green onion)
• 10 tablespoon bottled salsa verde, divided
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn; sauté 2 minutes or until browned. Place corn in a small bowl. Add goat cheese to corn; stir until well blended. Divide corn mixture evenly among 4 tortillas; spread to within 1/4 inch of sides. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1 tablespoon green onions. Drizzle each with 1 1/2 teaspoons salsa; top with remaining 4 tortillas.

2. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove from pan; keep warm. Wipe pan clean with paper towels; recoat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges. Serve with remaining 8 tablespoons salsa.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

223

Fat:

8.9g (sat 5.2g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.9g)

Protein:

9.9g

Carbohydrate:

28.6g

Fiber:

3.2g

Cholesterol:

16mg

Iron:

1mg

Sodium:

266mg

Calcium:

75mg

Creamy Carrot Soup

From Cooking Light March 2009

This is an awesome recipe, it's fast and simple. Plus, JAMES LIKES IT. It's actually rare to find something that both me and James like. Original recipe calls chicken broth but why add chicken broth to a vegetable soup? Keep it rule yo! Drawback--this recipe has quite a bit of sodium even if you do use vegetable broth.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 2 pounds carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (add more to taste)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (add more to taste)
  
• Dash of ground ginger
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and carrots to pan; cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in salt, pepper, and ginger.

2. Add 2 cups water and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until carrots are tender. Remove from heat; cool.

3. Place half of carrot mixture and 1 tablespoon cream in a food processor or blender; process 20 seconds or until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining carrot mixture and 1 tablespoon cream. Return mixture to pan; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

Nutritional Information per serving

Calories:

180

Fat:

6.9g (sat 2.3g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.9g)

Protein:

3.6g

Carbohydrate:

28.7g

Fiber:

7.6g

Cholesterol:

10mg

Iron:

0.9mg

Sodium:

963mg (ouch)

Calcium:

97mg