Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm back!!  Did you ever wonder if I I'd return?  Well, these last seven months I have been on a diet, the divorce diet.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, really, unless you want to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time.  That would be one of the benefits.  Since many of us are going to be setting goals to loose weight in the next few weeks, let me tell you my secret on how I lost 40 pounds in five months.  First of all, you must convince yourself that crunchy Cheetos are the only food item that tastes good on the entire planet.  Stick with that for about six weeks.  Then, slowly add in cereal.  Bland cereal.  At first it will taste like dirt, but keep trying.  Eventually, it will taste better and get easier to eat.  After a few weeks add sandwiches.  Doesn't matter what kind.  Just keep it simple.  Something like peanut butter and honey.  And then miraculously after about two more months, you will feel hungry again and some food will start tasting good again.  When you crave chocolate daily, you will know you are almost back to normal.  Only much lighter.  It works.  I know.  I've tried it.  Oh, please take a multivitamin daily while on this diet.  If not, the only complete daily dose of anything you'll be getting is stress.

I am hoping to completely get off of the divorce diet really soon.  One thing that will help is to cut down on the amount of chocolate, cheetos, cereal, and peanut butter in the house.  That way I actually have to cook something.  Or rather, get to cook.  No excuses.  This is one of my hobbies, right?! 

 I decided to make a nice comfort food to kick off the end of the divorce diet.  What could be more perfect that my mom's chicken noodle soup.  Only I used a turkey carcass (that sounds like road kill, doesn't it?)  I really think that's what it's called.  And don't be intimidated by the homemade egg noodles.  They are super easy and make this recipe unique.  Although if you must, you can throw in some dried egg noodles at the end and cook until tender.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (or turkey carcass)
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup carrots, sliced
2 chicken bullion cubes
poultry season to taste
sage to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 - 3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
Homemade egg noodles (see recipe below)


Directions:
Wash chicken and put in large pan.  Cover with water and boil until thoroughly cooked.  Or cover turkey carcass with water and boil for 30 minutes.  Pull chicken out of broth and cool.  Add celery, onion, carrots, and bullion to broth.  Boil until carrots are nearly tender.  Pull meat off of chicken or turkey and dice.  Add a desired amount back to the soup.  Add salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, and sage to taste.  Make homemade noodles and add to boiling soup.  Mix cornstarch with water and stir into soup.  Add more bullion for flavor as needed.

Homemade Egg Noodles
Ingredients:  
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour (approximate)


Directions:
Whip eggs, water, and salt with a whisk.  Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.  When dough comes to a ball similar to pie crust, it is ready.  Roll out as thinly as possible on a floured surface.  Sprinkle dough with flour.  Fold over and over like a thin jelly roll.  Use scissors to cut thin slices of rolled up dough.  Unroll the noodle and break if desired.  Drop in boiling soup.  Cook in two minutes.

Feta Cheese Fold-overs

My youngest sister, Alyssa, is studying dietetics. When she talks about her nutrition and culinary classes it makes me wonder why I ever got my English teaching degree. I would love to learn the things she's learning. But I probably wouldn't love the homework. No, actually I'm sure I wouldn't.

Alyssa taught me something the other day when she shared this recipe on our family cooking blog. This fold-over recipe originated from Greece which was the birth place of the cookbook and the white chef hat. Hmm! Who knew? Let's all go there, shall we? It sounds like a marvelous place to visit. I'm sure we would have a great time.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

3 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Italian seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, blend feta cheese, green onions, and egg. Cut pastry into 12 (3-inch) squares. Place a tablespoon of the feta mixture on the center of each square. Moisten edges with water, and fold pastry over filling to form a triangle. Press edges together firmly with a fork to seal. Lightly brush pastries with the egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Garlic Cheese Drop Biscuits

I like to make bread. I also like to eat it. One of my favorite things about eating out is tasting the bread served prior to the meal. Think of the Olive Garden breadsticks or the Macaroni Grill rosemary bread with oil and vinegar. Yum! These biscuits are supposed to taste like Red Lobster biscuits. I haven't been there in such a long time, I can't say whether there is a true likeness or not. But what I can say is that these biscuits are quick and easy to make and are the perfect fix when you need rolls or breadsticks with your meal but don't have time to make them.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup bread flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

5 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder, pepper and garlic powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the milk and cheese; stir just until combined. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for about 18 minutes, until lightly browned. While biscuits are baking mix melted butter and minced garlic. Brush garlic butter over hot baked biscuits.

Orange Rolls

Here in Texas we are spoiled with sunshine. No inversions around here, no misty lingering fog, and very few overcast days. We've had a few of rainy, cloudy days this week and while I'm grateful for whatever rain we can get, the lack of morning sunshine is just about enough to make me want to stay in yoga pants and sit and read a book all hours of the day. (Can I hear a big "WAH" from all of you that are still in the never ending winter?) The only other activity that seems acceptable is making cinnamon rolls. So yesterday I found this alternative recipe and cooked up these nice sunshiny orange rolls. By the time they were done the sun was shining and it was hot and muggy outside. But at least they served their purpose to get me going and as a bonus, they tasted great.

adapted from Sophistimom

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm milk

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 egg yolks

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

4 1/2 - 5 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon yeast (scant)

5 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature

zest of two oranges

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon ground cardamon (I used 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves)

cream cheese frosting (recipe below)

Directions:

Put milk, water, melted butter, egg yolks, egg, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in a bread machine pan. (Or check out Sophistimom for directions using a mixer.) Set on dough setting. Mix and let rise once. Punch down dough and and let rest for 3 minutes. Roll out into a large rectangle (about 12x20 inches).

Mix room temperature butter with orange zest. Spread the mixture over the entire surface of the dough. Mix powdered sugar with cardamon or other spices in a small bowl. Use a sieve and sprinkle sugar mixture over the butter.

Starting on a 20 inch edge, roll the dough up loosely. Make slices 3 inches apart. Place rolls one inch apart, swirl side up, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with tea towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

For the frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of 2 oranges

juice of 1/2 an orange

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Stir in sugar, vanilla, orange zest, and juice. Mix until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

Turtle Bars

When I went to college I had one roommate from Bear Lake. We had so much fun being happy and giddy together. Oh, those days at Utah State University are never to be forgotten. As roommates we shared a wide variety of things like late night talks, library tables, friends, contact lenses (not intentional), and these yummy Turtle Bars her mom used to make and bring when she came to visit. Our favorite way to eat them now is al a mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzled on top, but they are also good enough to stand alone.

Recipe from T. Arnell

Ingredients:

48 caramels or 2 11 ounce bags of caramel bits

7 1/2 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1/3 teaspoon salt

2/3 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/8 cup brown sugar

1 1/8 cup butter, melted

1 8 ounce package chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt caramels with milk in double boiler or microwave. Stir until smooth; set aside. Combine flour, oatmeal, salt, soda, brown sugar, and butter. Press half of mixture in a 9 x 13 greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Wait for them to melt and spread to cover crust. Pour on caramel mixture and spread. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture on top. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Apple Rolls

I love old-fashioned recipes because all of the ingredients are so basic. You probably have everything you need in your pantry to make these right now. The recipe for these apple rolls is from my Great Grandma Hunter. I remember her coming over to visit when I was very young and she was in her last years of life. I don't remember too much about her, but I do remember that she was a hard worker and a good cook. She also had funny superstitions like "Spit on your hand when you see a white horse, and your wish will come true." And I remember my Mom saying that she used to put a little bit of lemon juice in everything she made. These apple rolls of hers taste so down-to-earth and real that eating them takes me back 50 years to her kitchen table.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups applesauce

1/4 cup butter

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in shortening. Add milk and gently mix. Generously flour countertop and pat or roll dough into a 6 x 12 rectangle. Spread applesauce over dough. (I sprinkle it with cinnamon.) Carefully roll into a jelly roll. Expect this to be messy and expect some of the applesauce to squish out. Cut jelly roll into 1 inch slices and place them in a 9 x 11 greased pan. Scoop up any lost applesauce and place it on top of roll slices. Boil butter, water, sugar, and vanilla together for 2 minutes. Pour over rolls. Bake in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve warm, upside down, with milk or plain.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I have a husband who refuses to eat mayonnaise or anything that looks, feels, tastes, or smells like it. His restriction rules out things like fry sauce, yellow sauce, and actually pretty much any kind of sandwich, burger, or wrap sauce on the planet. One time early in our marriage, very early mind you, I sneakily added one teaspoon of mayonnaise into a southwestern wrap spread. He took one bite and I ended up eating about 6 wraps by myself over the next few days. And so that is how this recipe came to be. I love chicken salad sandwiches. These ones have no mayo. Cream cheese is the substitute. Works wonders. I aim to please my man, especially if he's subjected to eating girly food like this for dinner every once in a while. Not that he's complaining.

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (Season 2 breasts with salt and pepper and cook them in a slow cooker for a few hours.)

1/4 cup green onions, diced

10 grapes, sliced lengthwise in thirds

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, milk, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly. Serve with green leaf lettuce on rolls or in cream puffs.

Brittany's Pumpkin Muffins

One of my favorite things about going home to my parents' house is the smell of breakfast. My mom cooked breakfast all of the time while we were growing up. These muffins became a regular favorite in the morning when I would come home on the weekends from college. The original recipe is from a sweet girl in Bear Lake that I grew up with named Brittany. Despite her special needs, she still recognizes me and remembers my name from 15 years ago. I usually see her every couple of years and she always hugs me or holds my hand and sincerely asks me how I am doing. When I make these muffins, I can't help but think of her beaming smile and twinkling eyes.

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce can pumpkin puree

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2/3 cup butter (original recipe uses margarine)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

3 1/2 cups flour

2/3 cup water

1 8 ounce package chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and butter in mixer. Add soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix well. Add flour and water and mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Scoop into greased or lined muffin tins or loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes for mini muffins and 25 minutes for regular sized muffins. Makes 24 mini muffins plus 16 regular muffins. For loaves, cooking time varies depending on size. When toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, it is done.

Rosemary Bread

Yesterday I went out onto the back patio and did a spring assessment on my potted herb garden. I think it all finally died. My rosemary plant lasted all the way up until the snow week last month. I guess I should have brought it in and given it the special treatment it deserved. After all it is my most favorite herb. I love the way it smells and tastes when I cook with it. This rosemary bread is a delicious, flavorful bread to make. It tastes great served with soup or salad. I make the dough in my bread maker and then cook it in my oven and it turns out perfect every time. Of course, you can always make it by hand or in a mixer. Just thinking about it now makes me want to run down to the nursery and get some new little herb starts to plant right away.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, or 3/4 tablespoon dried rosemary

2 3/4 cup to 3 cups bread flour

1/3 cup dry milk powder

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

egg yolk

coarse sea salt

Directions:

Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select white bread cycle; press Start. Stop machine and take dough out before the baking cycle begins. Or use your mixer or mix it by hand. Cover dough in bowl and let rise until double. Punch down dough and shape into a round loaf; set on a greased cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Cut three slits across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Cover with a tea towel and let raise for 30 minutes. Carefully brush with egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water whisked together. Sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt and more rosemary. Bake in 360 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

So and So's Sausage Dip

This is one of those recipes that I don't want to make, but it's so good I just can't help it. I got the original recipe from a sister-in-law before she left the family. And I can't help but thinking, "This is so and so's recipe" each time I make it and I can just see her chopping tomatoes and peppers in my mom's kitchen chit chatting and laughing with the rest of us. And then I think of how simple life was way back then before my siblings and I grew up and had to really start figuring out what life was about and how to get through it all. Oh, well. Things happen for reasons. On the bright side, I have to thank her for sharing a few good recipes and a couple of darn good boys with the family.

Ingredients:

2 pounds sausage

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 4 ounce can diced green chilies

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces sour cream

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

10 dashes hot sauce (I use Cholula)

3/4 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon crushed cilantro

tortilla chips

Directions:

Brown sausage; drain and put in crock pot. Saute green pepper and onion in remaining sausage grease. Add to crock pot with all remaining ingredients. Mix and cook on low until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips.

St. Patrick's Day Mini Cakes

I make this green cake every single year during the month of March in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Yes, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day here. And we may or may not have green milk, green pancakes, green eggs, and green toilet water in our house. Ya know, the toilet water doesn't really fit in with the green food, does it? No, but it is green none the less. On to the green cake. This is my mother-in-law's recipe for a super moist almond flavored pistachio pudding bundt cake. It's very easy to make. Throw in all of the ingredients, turn on the mixer for four minutes, and then while you have your food coloring out, go do your business in the toilets. Nothing like multitasking to keep the holiday stress low.

Ingredients:

1 package yellow cake mix

1 small package pistachio instant pudding

1/4 cup oil

7 drops green food coloring

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup flour

Directions:

Add all ingredients to mixing bowl. Beat for four minutes on medium speed. Pour into a greased and floured mini bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not under bake. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and carefully remove. Cool on wire rack and dust with powdered sugar.

*To make in a large bundt pan: Pour batter in greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees on center rack in oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes and invert onto wire rack. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Toffee Apple Dip

I first had this yummy apple dip at a family reunion. One of my aunts brought it. Don't ask me how it survived making it out of my grandma's goody cellar to share with everyone else. Maybe it was safe in the fridge. Who knows. This recipe takes about five minutes to make and tastes best with granny smith apples to balance out the sweetness of the dip. Make it and you'll be licking your plate just like my girls did last week. You just won't be able to help it.

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup toffee pieces

6 granny smith apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges

1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients in a mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with a until smooth. Add toffee bits and mix well. Cover and chill. Combine juice and apples in a bowl; toss well. Serve apples with dip.

German Pancakes

My Mom used to make a similar recipe of German pancakes in a big 13 x 9 inch pan. I always hoped I got to eat a part of the crispy, buttery edge. I tried making these pancakes in individual 2 - 3 cup ramekins to make them a little more fancy. I loved the result because it made even more crusty edge per serving. This is a great recipe to use when you have about five minutes to fix a meal and about two minutes to clean up. Serve it for breakfast, brunch, or dinner.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Remove top rack in oven and preheat to 475 degrees. Set four 2 - 3 cup ovenproof ramekins in oven to heat.

In a blender mix the milk, eggs, and flour. Scrape sides as necessary and blend until a smooth batter forms. Take hot ramekins out of oven and divide butter among each. Spread melted butter around to distribute evenly. Immediately pour batter into ramekins and bake for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the pans and how crispy you like them. The batter will bake, then puff up dramatically.

Top with powdered sugar, syrup, fresh fruit, yogurt, jam, honey, or milk and sugar.

Lemon Bars

I remember Mom making lemon bars and taking them to Aunt Blodwyn's house when we were little. I must have breathed in while taking a bite, because I got a nose full of powdered sugar. Have you ever done that? I'm sure I nearly died on that occasion, because I can't eat a lemon bar without thinking about it. Anyway, I've been saving this post for Spring. Lemon bars seem like something to make when it's nice and warm outside when we're all gearing up for lemonade stands and lemonade ice cream pie. But it has been in the 80s this week here in Texas. It feels like Spring to me. I love the shortbread crust to lemony goodness ratio in these lemon bars. I cut them a couple hours after making them, so they were still a little gooey. I'd let them set up for at least six hours. They were actually perfect the second day.

Recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 cubes), at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 pan, building up a 1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut and dust with confectioner's sugar.

Soft Buttery Breadsticks

Most of my family doesn't like most soups. Don't ask me why. It doesn't make sense to me. They could eat Mexican food every day and I could eat soup everyday. So we had some negotiations during dinner the other day and we decided that I would make soup once a week and Mexican once a week. Done deal! I do have pity on them a little bit as I try to make my own noodles, use random vegetables, and try a bunch of strange recipes. Some good, some not so good. I make these breadsticks to make up for the soup. It keeps everyone happy.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 stick butter

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except butter) in bread maker on dough cycle. (Or make by hand or with a mixer and let raise until double). When cycle ends, roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter and cut into 1 1/2 inch strips. Melt butter and pour on large cookie sheet. Dip a strip in butter, fold in half length-wise and twist holding both ends. Place on cookie sheet and turn to cover in butter. Continue with all dough strips and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, herbs, or whatever else you would like. Cover and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Spinach Salad

When we lived in Rigby, Idaho we built a house on an acre lot. We had a monstrous garden that was bigger than my current suburban back yard. It was usually parched and full of weeds, but we did grow some edible plants like tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, onions, potatoes, and spinach. Olivia would sit out in the dirt and make "chocolate milk cake" in a sand bucket and I would try to figure out what to do with all of the vegetables the garden produced. That's when I first discovered this spinach salad recipe. I think the best part of the salad is the dressing. It's a sweet red wine vinaigrette that matches perfectly with the strong flavors of the bacon, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. Reminds me of the windy summer days in Idaho.

Salad Ingredients:

1 package fresh baby spinach

1 small head of Romaine lettuce

12 ounces bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

12 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

3 cups Swiss cheese, grated

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon dry ground mustard

1 1/2 cups canola oil

1 medium purple onion, diced small

1 green onion, sliced

1 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions:

Break spinach and lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Toss together with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese. Chill in refrigerator.

In a blender, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and mustard. Place lid on blender and blend on high. While blender is running, add oil in a steady stream. Turn off blender and add onions and poppy seeds. Pulse blender once to mix. Pour in dressing jar. Refrigerate and shake well before serving.

Sugar Cookie Icing

Today was our fifth snow-day-so-stay-home-from-school day out of the last seven days of school. During our spare time my girls and I have been searching for the perfect sugar cookie recipe. We like to make them for Valentine's Day every year. Every year we try a new recipe. This time we tried more than one recipe and we still haven't found a keeper. I asked the girls if we should try another recipe today and they both said, "No!" so we didn't. I think my favorite one so far was this one from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. But I like the nutmeg in old-fashioned sugar cookies. So I would add 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg to the dough just for a little extra flavor. These cookies turn out nice and flat, unlike the big, poofy ones in the picture. They work great with our new favorite icing. This icing dries hard and glossy after a couple of hours and the cookies can be stacked and/or wrapped in cellophane. When using two colors, the top color doesn't mix in with the bottom color.

We filled some plastic candy making bottles that we found at JoAnn Fabric and Crafts with the icing. Then we squeezed it on with very little mess. Well, except for the sprinkles. They were a very large mess, but so worth it.

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 teaspoons milk

4 teaspoons corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavoring

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and glossy. You may need to add 1/2 teaspoon of milk at a time to get the right consistency. Do not add extra corn syrup or it will take longer for the icing to dry. Divide into separate bowls and add food coloring to each. Dip cookies, paint them with a brush, or use plastic squirt bottles to frost.

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

This is one of my favorite soups. I love the combination of the fresh mushrooms and wild rice together. It's perfect for this time of year. Well, actually, it's perfect if you have fresh mushrooms in your fridge or if you are able to drive to the grocery store to get some. If you are snowed in waiting for the ice on the road to melt with no mushrooms in your fridge, this is not the perfect soup for you. So make it next week. It'll be good then, too.

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup half-and-half or light cream

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

In a medium saucepan combine the chicken broth and uncooked wild rice. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in green onions; cook for 5 - 10 minutes more or until rice is tender. Whisk together half-and-half or light cream, flour, thyme, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir into rice mixture along with mushrooms. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Makes about 3 1/2 cups or 4 side-dish servings.

Poppy Seed Chicken

About ten years ago a friend shared this recipe with me. We made it for a Relief Society dinner we were in charge of together. I remember we were so worried about having enough food that we made a bunch of side dishes to go with it. We had rice, peach jello, rolls, and salad as well as dessert. I remember we added the peach jello at the last minute to make sure we had everything covered. I think we, or rather I, stressed myself out a bit much on that one. Now I serve it over rice and have vegetable on the side. I precooked the chicken and put this dinner together in eight minutes the other night. It's one of Olivia's favorites. She always requests it for her birthday dinner.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 large family-sized can cream of mushroom soup

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions:

Mix chicken, soup, and sour cream. Spread in a 9 x 11 inch pan. Mix crackers, butter, and poppy seeds. Sprinkle on top of chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 3o minutes or until bubbled and brown on top. Serve over rice.

*I sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the crock pot on high for a couple of hours. Also, you can crush the crackers right in their package. It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing

You would not believe the amount of excitement that came from Aubrey when I told her we were making "pucakes" for family night this week. She loves to help make treats in the kitchen. I wanted to try a new frosting recipe and found this one posted by Ina Garten. I'm not usually a big fan of peanut butter cake or brownies, but this recipe reminded me of the peanut butter play dough I used to make for Olivia when she was Aubrey's age. We always ended up eating it all. It does taste very similar, only it's very, very light. So light that I thought it would lose its shape, but it didn't for several days. It's amazing that the cupcakes lasted that long in our house. It's all because of the "proper serving size" eating habit we started this month. Blast those cupcakes! I had to keep them out of sight.

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is one of my favorite comfort foods. I remember when I was playing basketball in middle school our bus broke down about an hour away from home after a game. It was a cold, Idaho winter night and we were freezing on that bus while we waited for another one to come and take us home. When Jessica and I got home, Mom had this warm rice pudding waiting for us. We sat and ate it and talked. It's a good memory.

A few weeks after I had Aubrey the Relief Society asked me to make 32 cups of rice pudding for a dinner they were having. Looking in my cookbook, I see that I made eight times the original recipe. That's 16 cups of milk, 16 eggs, 4 cups of raisins, 42 ounces of evaporated milk, and 5 cups of sugar. To make it worse, I accidentally made twice as much rice as I needed. And then, I put the pudding in plastic airliner cups like they asked me to only to find that the hot mixture melted the cups and they were crazy shaped. Why didn't I think of that? I blame it on my postpartum brain and lack of sleep. It turned out that the dinner was not well attended due to a snow storm and they brought almost all of the pudding back to me. We ate it for a long time and were so sick of it. And I hadn't made it since until yesterday and it was so good. Just the way I remember it. I had one warm bowl full and was completely satisfied.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (leftover rice works best)

2 cups milk

5 1/3 ounces evaporated milk

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Scald milks together. Measure raisins into a strainer and set over boiling water long enough to plump them. Combine cornstarch, salt, and sugar. Stir into hot milk mixture, stirring constantly over medium heat until slightly thick and smooth. Add rice. Reheat to full boil. Remove from heat. Pour a 1/2 cup of hot rice mixture into beaten eggs while stirring rapidly. Return egg mixture to hot rice mixture while stirring. Continue to stir for about 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in raisins, spices, and vanilla. Ladle into bowls or dessert cups. Sprinkle with extra nutmeg or cinnamon. Serve either warm or cold. Makes eight 1/2 cup servings.

Dave's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are my least favorite thing to bake. And honestly, I can think of a hundred desserts I'd rather eat. I wasn't always like this. It's all Dave's fault. It really is. He ruined me. You see, many years ago, during the beginning of our marriage we made a deal. I wanted to go home for Thanksgiving and he wanted to go somewhere else. I really, really wanted to go home because I like to cook with my mom and sisters and because my mom knows how to make Thanksgiving the best holiday ever. I must have been pretty desperate because I agreed to bake Dave cookies every Sunday for one full year -- cookies of his choice -- if we could go where I wanted for Thanksgiving. It was a done deal. Thanksgiving was enjoyed and the year long baking was tolerated -- at best. The worst part was that he insisted on me making only about three different kinds of cookies all year. I don't like to cook the same thing over and over again. And so I got all cookied out. And now I never, hardly ever, make cookies. And the girls know I won't do it and they love the time they get to spend with their Dad in the kitchen cooking one of their favorite treats.

That being said, cookies in Texas are not that great. They just aren't the same as when you make them in the West. Let's blame it on the humidity and altitude. Dave finally perfected a recipe from an old friend's old girlfriend, Natalie. We call it Dave's Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have the perfect crunchiness on the outside and are chewy in the inside. I've had my fair share today.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

12 ounces chocolate chips

Directions:

Beat butter, shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 11 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

New York Cheesecake

During the holidays, my mother-in-law and I made the Famous Borjas Cheesecake. The Borjas cheesecake is very traditional, in fact, it's practically a member of the family. It shows up at important family events and celebrations. It's been around since the early 1950's. And I can't deny it's good, but for me, it's temperamental. I have about a 30% success rate with it. So I decided to find out the the secret of this cheesecake, you know, why it only works sometimes. And I found an interesting tidbit: the difference between the New York cheesecake and other kinds of cheesecake, is the thin layer of sour cream on top. I also found a new recipe fairly similar to the Borjas Cheesecake and some cheesecake cooking tips. The girls and I had to try the new recipe. We made it and felt so rebellious! It worked perfectly and was so good.

(adapted from Joy of Baking.com)

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Spray a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling Ingredients:

32 ounces (4 - 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature (do not used reduced fat cream cheese)

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream (not low fat or fat free)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth, (about 2 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on low until mixed. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake on a cookie sheet and set on the center rack in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue to back for about another 1 1/2 hours or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. This tastes best after being refrigerated for at least a day. Serve with fresh fruit or fruit sauces.

To freeze: Place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. Seal and return to freezer. Can be frozen for several months. Thaw uncovered cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

Tips: To help prevent the surface of the cheesecake from cracking, do not overbeat the batter, especially when creaming the cheese and sugar. Also, do not overbake. Your cheesecake is down when it is firm but the middle may still look a little wet. Finally, make sure the springfrom an is well greased as cracking can occur if the cheesecake sticks to the sides as it cools.

Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

I tasted a soup like this at a potluck dinner a couple of months ago and wanted to get the recipe. Then I forgot about it until my sister posted it on our family recipe blog. It's a new favorite. The Italian sausage adds so much flavor. Makes me feel like I'm sitting in a little European cafe in the wintertime.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian ground sausage (mild)

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth

1 3/4 c. water

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg. (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 pkg. (6 oz) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

2 1/4 tsp. minced fresh basil or 3/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. pepper

dash crushed red pepper flakes

shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

Crumble sausage into soup pot; add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender. Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add the broth, water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.

Stir in tortellini; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until tortellini are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach, basil, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Serve with cheese if desired.