Sugar Cookies

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites. Using the glace icing makes decorating super fun for the kids, messy but fun!

Check out the recipe here: (please don't compare my picts to hers!)

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/12/sugar-cookies.html

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

I made these for my roommates birthday party and they were a huge hit.

For the cake:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

For the Drizzle:
2 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the pumpkin and mix until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
3. Pour batter into a greased 9X13 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until set. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Mix all ingredients for the drizzle until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Pasta Goodness!

I don't know what this is called but its good. It is similar to an Alfredo sauce. A friend made it for us after I had Tanner.

1 lb bacon

2-3 chicken breast

Mesquite marinade

1 lb bowtie pasta

1 cube butter

1 cup cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic

Cook bacon and cut up. Cook chicken in marinade and cut chicken up. Cook pasta. While cooking pasta melt butter in sauce pan. Add in garlic, cream, and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil while stirring. Cook until thickened. Put it all together and you have a fattening but yummy meal.

The salad is just strawberries, feta cheese, almonds, and cabbage (I usually use spinach but it had gone bad). We put the poppyseed dressing on it.

PESTO LASAGNA

Ingredients:
lasagna noodles
cherry tomatoes
chopped mushrooms
chopped onions
ricotta cheese
mozarella cheese
2 breasts shredded chicken
1/2 pkg bacon

Pesto Sauce Ingredients:
chicken broth
1 large bag of spinach
garlic
*just add a tablespoon of chicken broth to the spinach till it is the right consistency

Just Layer it all together with how much you like of everything or add whatever vegetables sound good to you:) It is so delicious. I baked it covered for 30 minutes @ 350 then bumped it up to 400 for 15 minutes.

Vanilla Blueberry Scones

I don't have a pictures of the scones but Jana wanted me to post the recipe so here it is. Next time I make the scones I will be sure to post the picture. These scones are wonderful. The original recipe calls for no buttermilk or whipping cream but I prefer to make them more moist so that I can scoop them with a large cookie scoop rather than roll them out. You may want start with 1/8 cup of whipping cream first and add more if needed. The original recipe also calls for full fat sour cream but I have used light sour cream and they taste just as good.


Ingredients

Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Wet Ingredients
1 cup regular light sour cream
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 -1/4 cup buttermilk or whipping cream

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
water, as needed


Directions
Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3Using any method you prefer, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until flour resembles coarse meal. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk until blended. Add this to the flour-butter mixture and stir. Gently stir in bluberries. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop out scones. Then press with a greased glass cup.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.


PREPARE GLAZE WHILE SCONES ARE BAKING.

GLAZE:.
Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and add water one teaspoon at a time, mixing vigorously until smooth and runny.
Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of glaze over the hot scones. Brushing rather than drizzling gives a smoother appearance and requires less glaze.
Serve immediately. Store cooled scones in an airtight container.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Talia and I made this today and it was delicious. I didn't have powdered sugar so I found a chocolate frosting recipe using brown sugar, evaporated milk and chocolate chips. Enjoy.

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup applesauce
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
4 heaping Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups zucchini shredded (about 2-3 6 inch long)
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. Combine sugars, butter and applesauce. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the mixture. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour into pan. Bake 40-45 minutes. Cool and then frost.



CHOCOLATE CHIP FROSTING

1 c. brown sugar
6 tbsp. cream

Bring to boil, remove from heat and add 1/2 package chocolate chips for Chocolate Frosting or 1 package butterscotch chips for Caramel Frosting.