Wedding Cookies

My friend, Angela, came over the other day and we did a bit of holiday baking.  We both talked about how we used to love those powdered sugar wedding cookies that came in a pink bag that our mothers would bring home from the grocery store.  Here is our version.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Cream butter, vanilla and 1/4 powdered sugar together in your handy, dandy, fancy schmancy new mixer using the whisk attachment.
• Change to the beater attachment on the mixer.
• Add flour a half-cup at a time, blending well with each addition.
• Add cinnamon with second flour addition.
• Stir in chopped pecans.
• Dough will form into a large ball, wrap in clear wrap, and chill for a couple of hours.
• Make some Chocolate Oatmeal cookies while you wait for the dough to chill and have Angela drop half of them onto the wax paper when she gets antsy and starts playing around too much.
• Take chilled dough out of the fridge and shape dough into one-inch-balls - caution your friend Angela that one-inch is rather small - not the size of a baseball!
• Place cookie dough balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 9-11 minutes.  Do not count on your friend Angela to keep up with the time because she will forget.
• Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool slightly.  
• While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar and cool completely on a wire rack or waxed paper.
• You may want to roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar as well.  We did not.  We just wanted to eat them!

I think I might try to add mini-chocolate chips to these the next time I make them.  I bet that would be even more tasty!

Sausage Balls

You know, it really doesn't matter what the occasion, for a snack, sausage balls seem to hit the spot with our family.  I have tried lots of different recipes but this one seems to be the favorite around here.

Ingredients:
2 pounds sausage
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups biscuit mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

To prepare:

• Several days prior to making these, have your sweet husband use his new, handy, dandy meat grinder that you gave him for Christmas to make some sausage.  (He used a Boston Butt that we had in the freezer.  It was a trial and error process - sometimes the 'run' would be too sage-y, sometimes it was too fire-y from red pepper.  The end product needed a bit more fat - which he had anticipated - and was a bit more pepper-y than he intended.  Boy, is it tasty, though!)
• Weigh out two pounds of sausage using the new, handy, dandy scale you got for your birthday and dump it into your mixing bowl - the sausage, not the scale.
• Add the softened cream cheese to the sausage.

• With the dough hook attachment, mix together using the new, handy, dandy mixer your sweet husband gave you for Christmas.
• Add half the cheddar cheese; continue mixing.  Add the other half of the cheddar cheese and mix well.

• Mix in biscuit mix a half-cup at a time until the mixture is well blended.

• Sausage balls may be frozen, uncooked.

• While it is blending, stand back and admire your new, handy, dandy mixer and the fine job it does and just how beautiful it is!
• Using your handy, dandy one-tablespoon scoop (that has been spritzed with vegetable oil), dip out and drop balls onto a baking sheet that has been lightly spritz with vegetable oil spray.

• If you are planning to freeze sausage balls, drop onto wax-paper-lined baking sheet.

• How did the rows on that one get wonky like that?  That usually drives me crazy and I have to fix it.  Since I was less than half through, I guess it didn't bother me too much.  

Even though the picture is a bit fuzzy, this pan is much more pleasing and rows are uniform!

• If freezing, set pans in freezer for several hours or overnight till frozen through.  Then, remove from wax paper and store in a zipper bag or seal in plastic with one of those vacuum seal machines.
• Bake fresh sausage balls in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or till brown.
• If baking frozen sausage balls, add a few minutes to the baking time.

These are great warm from the oven or reheated in the microwave.  Our family likes them either way!

Zucchinin Gratin

This recipe is adapted from one of Martha Stewart's.

4 Tablespoons Butter
5 Medium zucchini
1 3 thick slices of a large onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups grated cheese (I used a mixture of mild Cheddar, Parmesan, Monterey Jack, and Mozzarella)

• Slice zucchini crosswise into 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices.

• Dice onion slices with a rough chop.

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

• Add zucchini, onion, and garlic.

• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is crisp-tender (6-8 minutes)
• Add buttermilk.

• Cook until thickened, about 5-7 more minutes.

• Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1 cup of grated cheese.
• Stir in 1/2 Panko bread crumbs.
• Spoon mixture into a shallow 2-quart baking dish.

• Sprinkle remaining cheese and remaining bread crumbs over top.

• Bake until top is golden (about 8-10 minutes) and serve.

Outback's Alice Springs Chicken - My Copycat Version

We don't dine out all that often but when we do, I try to test out something different from what we usually prepare at home.  One of my favorite dishes is found at Outback Steakhouse and is listed on the menu as Alice Springs Chicken.  It is a combination of chicken breast, bacon, mushrooms, and Monterey Jack Cheese.  Yum!

Here is the recipe as I adapted it from a blog called Lauren's Kitchen.

1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
Vegetable cooking spray
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 Tablespoons butter
3 thick slices of onion
8 slices of bacon
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Teaspoons chopped, fresh parsley or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

• Combine the mustard, hone, butter, and lemon juice in a small bowl.  
• Place the chicken in a large plastic zipper bag and add 1/3 of the mustard mixture to coat the chicken well.
• Close the bag and marinate this a couple of hours or as long as overnight (like I did).
• After the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat a frying pan and melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter.
• Remove chicken from marinade (toss the marinade in the trash) and sear the chicken in the frying pan and butter for about 3 minutes per side.
• Place chicken in a baking pan or glass dish that has been sprayed lightly with vegetable cooking spray and set aside.
• Fry 8 slices of bacon till crisp and reserve about half the grease (2 Tablespoons).
• Saute' the mushrooms and onions in the combination of 1 Tablespoons butter and reserved bacon grease.
• Brush each seared chicken with 1/2 of the reserved mustard marinade, saving the last portion of marinade to use as a sauce for the finished dish.
• Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika.
• Stack the top with two slices of bacon.
• Spoon the sauteed mushrooms and onions onto the bacon.
• Top with a sprinkle of the cheeses.
• Bake the pan of prepared chicken breasts for 7-10 minutes or till cheese is thoroughly melted and starting to bubble.
• Sprinkle with parsley and serve, using extra honey mustard marinade as a dipping sauce.

We enjoyed this on July 4th with The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes and a tossed salad.  Yum!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This is a recipe that is adapted from The Neelys who have a cooking show on The Food Network.  I think theirs was for a fish sandwich but we like it with a baked potato and salad just as well!

Ingredients:
Nonstick Vegetable Cooking Spray
4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 heaping Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Dill (or 1 scant Tablespoon Dried Dill)
1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
Salt and black Pepper to taste
4 Tilapia Fillets
2-3 Tablespoons Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place a heavy-duty baking pan sprayed with vegetable spray in the oven to heat.
• Mix together the butter, mustard, and dill in a pie plate or shallow bowl.
• Combine bread crumbs, salt, cayenne and black peppers, and seasoning in another pie plate or shallow bowl.
• Dredge the fish through the butter mixture and then through the crumb mixture.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Immediately place on the hot cooking pan in the oven and bake until cooked through and lightly golden (about 15 minutes).

Lemon Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze

I found this recipe on Pinterest because I had a bushel of zucchini!  It originated from NancyCreative.  It is divinely delicious and could be a dessert!  Here it is:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini (You don't need to peel the zucchini before grating it!)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease/flour a 9 x 5" loaf pan; set aside.
• In a large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well.
• Add canola oil and sugar and blend well.
• Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend well.
• Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed into mixture.
• Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl in three increments, blending after each addition - but don't over-mix!
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Smaller loaf pans may take 5-10 minutes more.
• Cool in pan 10 minutes; then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)

• In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice till bell blended.
• Spoon glaze over cooled loaf.
• Let glaze set and serve!

Joann G's Zucchini Bread

My friend Joann G gave us a loaf of this bread one year for Christmas.  It was delicious.  I begged for the recipe and here it is.  I hope my loaf is as tasty as hers!

3 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecan pieces

• Grease/flour two loaf pans.
• Cream together eggs and sugar.
• Add oil and vanilla.
• Add zucchini.
• Stir dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
• Add chopped pecans.
• Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.