Ginger Spice Cookies

My visiting teacher made these for me and they are really good!

3/4 c butter flavored crisco

1 c sugar

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 cloves

1/2 t salt

preheat oven to 350. With an electric mixer, combine shortening and sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until completely incorporated.

Sift or whisk together flour, bakind soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add to the mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

bake for 8-10 minutes.

Summer Tortellini Salad

1 pkg. (9 oz.) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini (I like the 5 Cheese Tortellini from Costco)
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I use the equivalent of baby carrots instead)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley
1/2 cup home-made or really good ranch dressing (I used the Brianna's Brand one)
Parmesan Cheese - to taste
*Optional - I have added grilled chicken

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Placetortellini in a large colander and set aside. Meanwhile, slice zucchini. chop carrot(s). Cut tomatoes in half and slice green onions. Snip parsley, if using fresh. Add vegetables to tortellini. Pour salad dressing over salad. Grate parmesan cheese over salad. cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 6 servings

Mexican Rice

Here you go Marianne.....

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas

This is one from the website Dasha suggested - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

There are a lot of yummy looking recipes on there - I am trying a few out this week. This was dinner tonight and it was very yummy.

Ingredients
■8 whole Flour Tortillas
■Butter Or Margarine
■2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
■3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
■Salt And Pepper, to taste
■3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
■1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
■Cilantro
■3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce
Preparation Instructions
(To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.)

(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.

Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.

To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You’ll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)

Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

8 oz. extra-lean ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes with juice
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
11/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2T Worcestershire sauce
1T chili powder
11/2 t. dried oregano
1/8 t ground black pepper
3 T fresh cilantro

1.Cook the beef in a large soup pot over medium heat until browned all over, about 5 minutes
2. Remove the beef to a bowl and add the onion, carrots, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, and garlic to the pot. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes
3.Add the tomatoes(with juice), beans, broth, Worcestershire, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and reserved beef.
4.Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until thickened and flavorful, about 45 minutes. Garnish with the chopped cilantro.

Mexixan Sheperd's Pie

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup hot water
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8.5 ounce) package corn muffin mix
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place the beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is evenly brown and onion is tender. Drain grease. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix in the tomatoes, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking 5 minutes, until thickened. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, and top evenly with corn, cheese, and olives.
3. Prepare the corn muffin mix according to package directions. Spread evenly over the corn layer in the baking dish.
4. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until puffed and golden.

Toblerone Cookies

¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (117g) light brown sugar, packed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
200g milk Toblerone, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth, then stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and 150g Toblerone.
Drop leveled tablespoons of dough onto each sheet, 5cm (2in) apart. Press the remaining chopped Toblerone over the surface of the cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until dry-looking and covered with even cracks but not quite firm to the touch. Leave to cool and firm up on the baking sheets for a few minutes before carefully peeling away from the paper.

The cookies will keep in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.

Makes 22

*** Got it from this website.

Pioneer Woman Pizza Crust

This is a really easy and yummy pizza crust. You can make as thick or thin as you want it. We like a thin crust so we usually make 3 crusts out of this recipe. I got it from the Pioneer Woman website which is a very good website with good recipes. Also, this crust can live in the fridge up to a week so I usually make some dough and we use it throughout the week. And if you don't have a mixer you can totally mix it by hand - I had to mix it by hand while i was in Crimea with girls and it came out well.

1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast

1-½ cup Warm Water

4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

⅓ cups Olive Oil




1. Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
2. In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it.




***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

***Makes 2 crusts.

Potato, Broccoli and Cheese Soup

2 cups chopped onion (i had around 1 cup)

2 tablespoons margarine (used butter instead)

2 1/2 pounds peeled and cubed potatoes

5 cups boiling water

4 cubes chicken bouillon (used canned stock instead)

3 cups fresh broccoli, cooked and drained

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

In a large stock pot sauté onion in butter. Add potatoes, water and bouillon cubes. Cover, bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove tough outer skin of broccoli stems and add to the veggies for the last 5-7 minutes of cooking.

In a blender or food processor puree half of the soup and return to stock pot. Season with salt and pepper. (I just pureed the whole soup)

Add cheese and heat soup through until cheese is melted. Serve warm. I also put some croûtons on top.

Peach Blueberry Cobbler

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

3 cups fresh peaches peeled, pitted, sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, 1/2 c sugar, and baking powder. Mix in milk and 1/4 c butter until smooth. In a medium sauce pan, stir together brown sugar, cornstarch, and cold water. Add peaches. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Mix in 1 tablespoon butter, lemon juice, and blueberries. Continue cooking until butter is melted. Pour into a 8X8 pan. Evenly spoon batter on top of hot fruit. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the batter. Cook for 35 minutes.

Skillet Nachos

1/2 lb ground beef

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 cup chili beans in chili sauce

1 cup salsa

tortilla chips

1 1/2 c shredded monterrey jack cheese

sliced olives

diced tomatoes

Brown ground beef. Drain and remove beef to a plate; set aside. Using the same pan, stir fry bell peppers and zucchini for 2 minutes or until crispy. Stir in chili beans and 1/2 c of the salsa. Cook until hot. Stir in meat.

Line tortilla chips on a broiler safe pan. Spoon mixture on top of chips. Sprinkle with olives and tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese to your liking. Put under broiler until cheese is melted.

Crock Pot Apricot Chicken

A friend of mine gave me this recipe. It is yummy and easy.

4 chicken breasts
1 C Russian Dressing (she said you can substitute Catalina but she likes Russian the best)
1 C Apricot Pinapple Preserves
1 package onion soup mix

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour over chicken in crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6. Shred and serve over rice.