Low Country Cookies

So here's the recipe of some good cookies on Suzy's request :) I got this recipe from the Food Network website couple of years ago. It's very fast and very easy to make (no baking required).

Prep Time: 15 minutes 
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes 
Cook Time: 10 minutes 
Yield: 15 to 20 servings
 
Filling: 
1 (16-ounce) box graham crackers 
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter 
1 cup sugar 
1 egg 
1/2 cup milk 
1 cup chopped pecans 
1 cup or 3 (1/2-ounce) cans shredded coconut 
 
Topping: 
2 cups powdered sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (softened)
3 tablespoons milk
 
For the filling: Line a 13 by 9-inch pan with whole graham crackers. Melt the butter in saucepan and add sugar. Beat the egg and milk together; add to butter mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the nuts, coconut, and 1 cup graham cracker crumbs. Pour over the crackers in the pan. Cover with another layer of whole graham crackers. 
 
For the topping: Beat all the ingredients together and spread over top layer of crackers. 
 
Chill. Cut into squares.

Snowman Handouts

While I was at mom's I thought it would be a good idea if we posted cute handouts we have done for church or little gifts they have given out. We can label them handouts. I know I could always use some clever ideas!

These were some snowmen we made out of marshmallows. You stick 2 together with a little frosting, poke holes with a toothpick for the eyes and put a chocolate sprinkle in the holes, then poke a hole for a nose and put a little triangle of an orange slice candy or gumdrop for the nose. The hat is a junior mint stuck on the top with frosting.

Mom then put a little bag of marshmallows, a bag of hot chocolate and a little poem about snowman soup. Such a cute idea!

Chicken Bundles

This is mom's recipe. She made it the other night and it was really good so I thought I would post.

Ingredients:
2 packages Pillsbury crescent rolls
8 chicken tenders (4 chicken breasts)
Celery diced fine
Onions diced fine
4 oz cream cheese, softend
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
Pepper

Boil chicken breasts in chicken broth. When chicken is done, remove from broth. Save the broth for gravy. Dice chicken and add to the celery and onions. Add cream cheese. Put a spoonful of the chicken mixture into the each crescent triangle and wrap up and roll. Bake according to the directions on the rolls.

Make gravy using the broth and 1/2 can cream of chicken soup. Add pepper to taste. When rolls are done, top with gravy and serve.

Ginger Spice Cookies

I LOVE molasses cookies, Roger does not. It is a shame. This recipe is really good and I am craving them right now!

3/4 C Butter flavored Crisco
1 C sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1/4 C molasses
2 C flour
2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine shortening and sugar and cream until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the egg and the molasses and beat until completely incorporated. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt and then add to the mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

Place on cookie sheets and flatten slightly with the bottom of a flat glass, or your fingertips. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just set around the edges.

Sloppy Joe... slop sloppy joe

I know you all know how to make sloppy joes.... but Tanner and I tried an experiment with them last night. We cooked chopped onions with the meatand it was yummy. Mom... dad would never eat it but it was good!

Zuppa Toscana

Another on I saw on the Pleasant and Plump blog - looks just like the Olive Garden soup!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground Italian sausage (You can use the spicy Italian sausage and omit the red peppers)
1½ tsp crushed red peppers (or can use a fresh hot pepper)
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces (Can use Turkey bacon)
2 tsp garlic puree/ finely chopped
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale (or spinach)


Saute Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
In the same pan, saute bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.
Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving. Delicious!

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

A friend of mine made this for me after I had Jeremy and I saw the recipe on the Pleasant and Plump blog (link on the side of this blog). It is so good and easy to make. Thought I would post it here in case you don't look at that one.

2-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size peices
italian dressing (I use fat free)
1 8oz. package cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth (I use water and it still tastes delicious)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme

Put chicken in crock put, soak in Italian dressing. (I use 1/2 bottle dressing for 2 ckn breasts). Let cook on low for 3-4 hours. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. After chicken is cooked, drain out liquid from crock put and put the cream cheese/soup mixture in. Let cook for one more hour. Serve over rice or pasta.

Tangerine Chicken with Curry-Carrot Couscous

I am constantly stealing recipes from Rachel Ray! I made this tonight for dinner. If you don't like the couscous/curry it would be good to have just the chicken with the tangerine sauce over sticky rice.

• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• Juice of 4 tangerines or 6 clementines, zest of 1
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 cups chicken stock, divided
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 1/2 cups couscous

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and cook in the hot pan until brown on both sides and cooked through, about 12 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add citrus juice and zest, brown sugar, sliced ginger, cinnamon stick, hot sauce and 1/2 cup chicken stock to skillet and simmer until syrupy, 5-6 minutes.

While the sauce cooks, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO in a saucepot over medium heat and sauté carrots and scallions for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups stock, bring to a boil then stir in curry, turmeric and couscous. Cover the pot and turn heat off. Let couscous stand 5 minutes, fluff with fork.

To serve, slice chicken breasts on a bias and fan them out on a bed of couscous. Drizzle tangerine sauce over everything.

Christmas Mice

Here is another cute goody idea. They are Christmas mice - you can give these as a gift with the 12 Days of Christmas poem - "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house; not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." I thought this was a fun idea.

• 24 double-stuffed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons shortening
• 24 red maraschino cherries with stems, well drained
• 24 milk chocolate kisses
• 48 sliced almonds
• 1 small tube green decorative icing gel
• 1 small tube red decorative icing gel

Carefully twist cookies apart; set aside the halves with cream filling. Save plain halves for another use. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Holding each cherry by the stem, dip in melted chocolate, then press onto the bottom of a chocolate kiss. Place on the cream filling of cookie, with cherry stem extending beyond cookie edge. For ears, place slivered almonds between the cherry and kiss. Refrigerate until set. With green gel, pipe holly leaves on the cream. With red gel, pipe holly berries between leaves and pipe eyes on each chocolate kiss. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Some Cute Christmas Goody Ideas

I saw this on KSL today. They looked so cute. Rachel - this is like those snowmen mom had in that recipe book we saw. Sorry, I couldn't find pictures online for all of them.

Mini Christmas Stocking Cakes
Cut a Twinkie snack cake in half approximately 1/3 of the way up at a 45 degree angle. Cut another cake the same, cutting the angle down. (You will need to do this in pairs cutting one angle up and one down to have enough matching pieces.) Place the smaller cut piece of each Twinkie to the opposite cake pressing cut sides together. This will create a stocking shape. Frost entire cake. Frost the top edge of the stocking using a decorative icing cake decorating tip or use candy to decorate. Decorate stockings with tiny candies and sprinkles if desired. To use as a place card or favor, pipe the name of each guest at the top of the stockings.

Santa Face Cookies
For each cookie, dip one end of a Nutter Butter peanut shaped cookie almost halfway into melted white almond bark or candy coating to create the beard. Immediately sprinkle dipped end with shredded coconut and press gently into almond bark. Let set. Dip other end of cookie approximately ¼ of the way up in the white almond bark to create part of the hat and let set. Dip this hat end again into melted red candy melts leaving a small border of the white showing so it creates a red hat with white trim. Immediately press a miniature marshmallow to the right side of the cookie at the edge of the red to create the look of a ball at the end of the hat. Attach two mini chocolate chips with melted almond bark to middle of cookie to create eyes. Attach a small red hot cinnamon candy below eyes to form nose. (Tips: Roll mini marshmallow slightly to make more round and pliable before attaching to cookie. Also - if you do not want to use coconut on the beard white sprinkles can be used or simpy use a knife to swirl more almond bark on to make a textured and fluffy look.)

Rudolph the Reindeer Cupcakes
Bake chocolate cupcakes in plain or brown paper liners. Let cool. Melt chocolate almond bark and place in a pastry bag with a round decorating tip or in a heavy duty Zip-Loc bag and snip corner. Pipe almond bark to create antlers onto wax paper or a Silpat baking mat. Make antlers approximately three inches long with several branches making sure to make them thick so they will not be too fragile to handle. Let set completely. (These can be whimsical and each pair do not have to match exactly.) To assemble: Frost cupcakes with chocolate icing. Place a pair of antlers into top of cupcake by piercing hole with a skewer and gently inserting antlers. Place a red candy ball for the nose (red malt balls, Cadbury red candy balls, red sour ball candies, red foil-wrapped balls, red gumballs, or even a red gumdrop would work, etc.) Use tiny round candies, chocolate chips or use frosting for eyes. Add a holly leaf made from frosting or a pre-made accent at base of one antler if desired. Nestle cupcake in additional paper liner for nice presentation.

Frosty the Snowman Treats
(Recipe adapted from www.FamilyFun.com)
Use white or clear piping gel to attach a powdered sugar donut hole to a miniature powdered sugar donut. Unwrap a thin mint candy (such as a miniature York peppermint pattie) and attach to donut hole to become hat brim. Unwrap a miniature peanut butter cup candy or Rolo type candy and attach to top of mint to become the top of hat. Use icing to create a holly leaf and berries on hat brim if desired. Use black piping gel (or other colors) to add eyes, a mouth and buttons to the snowman. To make nose, slice a triangle shaped piece of orange gumdrop, roll slightly to shape and press in granulated sugar to cover any sticky side. Make a hole in donut hole face with a small wood skewer and insert nose. Serve on a plate sprinkled with shredded coconut or on white cotton candy sprinkled with edible glitter to resemble snow.