Sugar Cookies (Perfect Cutout Sugar Cookies)

This is the perfect dough, not sticky at all, doesn’t need to be refrigerated, and the cookies hold their shape when baked. They bake perfectly without browning. See notes below for extra tips. Also, one batch of my cream cheese buttercream frosting is just the right amount to frost this recipe.

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1 cup butter, softened to room temp

1.5 cups powdered sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

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Combine butter and sugar with paddle in stand mixer or with hand mixer until smooth. Add egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined. Add flour and mix until dough starts coming together and forming a ball.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on lightly floured parchment paper. Thinner cookies will be on the crunchier side, thicker on the softer side. Cut out and transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes at 350. Cool on cookie sheet or transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 24-32 cookies (approximately 2.5 inches in diameter). Once cooled, frost with one batch of my cream cheese buttercream frosting

Notes:
- Be sure the butter is at room temp, set out the morning or night before to ensure it softens sufficiently.

- When measuring the flour be sure to stir the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off to make sure you are adding the correct amount of flour.

- The final dough should not be sticky at all and should roll out easily on parchment paper with only a small amount of flour on the paper and rolling pin. If your dough turns out too sticky, something went wrong and if you have to add a lot more flour the cookies may turn out brittle.

- To keep cookies soft, store frosted or unfrosted in an airtight container. To make them crunchy leave them open on the counter for a day or so (that's how I like them ;))


Slightly adapted from CreatedBy-Diane.com Sugar Cookie Recipe.

https://www.createdby-diane.com/2011/07/sugar-cookie-recipe.html

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes and My Favorite Syrup!

Tender, tasty, filling and easy to memorize! My favorite pancake recipe yet!

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Dry Ingredients (mix in large bowl)

1 cup whole white wheat flour (120 grams)

1.5 cups all-purpose white flour (180 grams)

2 tablespoons sugar (only need 1 T if using sweetened yogurt)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ tablespoon salt

Wet Ingredients (add to quart measuring glass)

1 cup milk minus 2T plus 2T vinegar

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (Greek or regular, whole fat works best)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup water* (or more if needed)

2 large eggs

In a quart measuring glass add 2 T white vinegar, add milk up to 1 cup total volume, add yogurt up to 2 cups total volume, add oil up to 2.5 cups total volume, then add ¼ cup water and 2 eggs. Combine with a fork or whisk and let sit. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour wet ingredients into the well. Stir with a fork until just combined. *Depending on the consistency of the yogurt you are using, you may need to add some additional water if the batter is too dry or thick. Use a spring handled scoop to measure out batter onto griddle.  Makes 12-18 pancakes.

Optional: Replace 3 tablespoons of white flour for ground flaxseed.

Inspired by: http://alexandracooks.com/2015/08/18/one-bowl-buttermilk-pancakes-baking-steel-griddle-giveaway/ and http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/greek-yogurt-pancakes/

Favorite and Easy Go-To Pancake Syrup

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

Combine in pint measuring glass and microwave for 3 minutes then stir until completely dissolved.

Stir in ¼ teaspoon maple extract and serve!

Nutrition Facts

14 Servings

Amount Per Serving

• Calories178.0
• Total Fat9.5 g
• Saturated Fat1.4 g
• Polyunsaturated Fat2.5 g
• Monounsaturated Fat5.0 g
• Cholesterol30.3 mg
• Sodium402.5 mg
• Potassium86.1 mg
• Total Carbohydrate18.3 g
• Dietary Fiber1.3 g
• Sugars3.5 g
• Protein4.6 g

• Vitamin A1.9 %
• Vitamin B-122.2 %
• Vitamin B-60.9 %
• Vitamin C0.2 %
• Vitamin D3.2 %
• Vitamin E8.2 %
• Calcium7.0 %
• Copper0.1 %
• Folate1.2 %
• Iron5.7 %
• Magnesium0.6 %
• Manganese0.1 %
• Niacin3.5 %
• Pantothenic Acid0.7 %
• Phosphorus3.8 %
• Riboflavin5.5 %
• Selenium0.6 %
• Thiamin4.6 %
• Zinc1.3 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Savory Maple Breakfast Sausage Seasoning Mix

Amount of mix will season up to 6 pounds of sausage. Mix spices together and store in airtight container.

1 T ground sage
1 T marjoram
1 T crushed red pepper flakes*
1 T black pepper
2 T seasoned salt (like Lawry’s)

Real maple syrup
Plain pork sausage or ground pork**

To make 4-5 patties:

With ½ pound plain pork sausage, combine ½ tablespoon of mix with 1 T of real maple syrup and mix it into the sausage with your hands until just combined (don’t over handle or the sausage may turn out tough). Form into 4-5 patties and cook on nonstick pan over medium low to medium heat, turning occasionally, until well browned and they reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F.

 *Can reduce to half if you want to reduce the heat, and then use just under ½ tablespoon when making the sausage.

 **I use the pork sausage roll from Aldi (Appleton Farms brand) which doesn’t have much seasoning besides salt. You can also use plain ground pork but I found the texture to be different as it wasn’t ground as fine as the sausage. Also, If you use ground pork that isn’t salted you may need to add up to ¼ teaspoon of salt for each half pound.

Adapted from http://iowagirleats.com/2015/09/18/simple-homemade-breakfast-sausage/

Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins

⅓ cup canola oil

½ cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe banana

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¾ cup whole white wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

⅓ cup oats (quick or old fashioned) + more for sprinkling on top

1 teaspoon coarse sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Combine wet and dry ingredients separately. Stir wet ingredients with dry ingredients and until just combined.  Divide into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle oats and coarse sugar on top of each muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with butter.

Adapted from cookieandkate.com/2015/healthy-banana-muffins-recipe

Energy Bar Cookies

Perfect for healthy snacking. I keep mine in the freezer and take out a couple when I'm about to run errands, etc. Makes 24 cookies. Cook time: 20 minutes.

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2 ripened bananas, mashed 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (or sunflower butter) 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups quick oats 1/2 cup chopped nuts (or 1/4 cup sunflower seeds) 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or raisins)

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Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix wet ingredients and salt. Stir in oats. Add a few tablespoons of milk or water if the batter is dry. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips until combined. Use small cookie scoop and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Arrange three chocolate chips on top of each cookie (optional). Bake for 20 minutes. Eat within 2 days or freeze.

Tip

I cook two cookie sheets at once (12 cookies on each sheet) and switch them after 10 minutes for even cooking.

Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu

  Quick and easy version of a fancy dish. Serves 3-5 people. Cook Time 10-15 minutes. 

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4-5 small chicken breasts, tenderized

1-2 T olive oil

4 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup monterey jack cheese, shredded

¼  cup cheddar cheese, shredded

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

½ cup panko

1 T Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

4 teaspoons olive oil

3 slices ham, diced (I like Hormel Natural Choice Ham)

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1. Preheat oven to 400. Prepare chicken breasts by placing in a zip top bag and pounding them on each side with a meat tenderizer.
2. Combine cream cheese, shredded cheeses, and garlic salt in small bowl.
3. Combine panko, seasonings, oil, and diced ham  in a small bowl.
4. Heat olive oil in oven proof  non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts for 1 minute on each side. Remove skillet from heat.
5. Move chicken breasts to center so they are touching each other. Spread cheese mixture over chicken breasts. Sprinkle panko/ham mixture over the cheese.
6. Bake at 400 (in middle of oven)  until chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165 F (about 6-8 minutes).

Tips

If you don’t have a meat tenderizer you can use the back of a cookie scoop or a rolling pin. You can use any type of shredded cheese to mix with the cream cheese, including swiss or parmesan. If your skillet is not oven proof, just transfer the chicken to an oven-proof casserole dish before topping and baking.

Layered Tres Leches Cake

Easy but fancy dessert. Perfect for summer dinner parties and potlucks.

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5 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk (2% or whole)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup heavy cream

2-3 tablespoons sugar, to taste

fresh chopped strawberries (or other berries)

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Preheat oven to 350. Generously spray 2 - 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray (I use silicon pans). Beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form, set aside. Beat egg yolks and sugar on high until pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla.

Stir flour, baking soda, and salt together and add to the yolk mixture, stir to combine. Gently fold in egg whites to rest of batter until just combined. Gently spread into the two pans. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and inserted toothpick is clean. Remove from oven, let cool, and poke holes all over each cake with a fork.

Combine evaporated and sweetened condensed milk in a pourable measuring glass and stir. Pour half of it over each cake (about 1 1/4 cup for each cake). Let cakes sit for about 20 minutes or until all the milk is absorbed. At this point you can also cover the cakes with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to one day.

Meanwhile, beat heavy cream and sugar on high until stiff peaks form. Spread layer of whip cream between the two layers of cake and on top. Sprinkle chopped strawberries over the whip cream. Serve immediately (room temperature is preferred).

Adapted from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/tres-leches-cake/

Pad Thai

This baby of mine has been a long time coming, but I finally have it perfected. This is one of my favorite Thai dishes and now I can make it at home! It requires a good amount of prep work but it only takes a short time to put it all together at the end. Most of the ingredients can be obtained from any grocery store. You may have to go to an Asian store to find the tamarind concentrate or order it online. I use a food scale to measure some of the ingredients in this recipe, but I put the approximate volume equivalents in here too for those that don't have one yet. Serves 2-4 people. Adapted from shesimmers.com.

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Prepare Noodles

7 oz Thai Kitchen Brand Stir-Fry Rice Noodles (½ of box, can find at Walmart) or other Thai brand pad thai style rice noodles

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat, add noodles, cover with lid and let soak for 2 minutes. Drain off hot water and cover noodles with room temp water. Cover with lid and let soak for 20 minutes. Drain off water, rinse noodles with cold water, and set colander of noodles aside. Cut noodles with kitchen scissors to shorten to make stir frying easier in the end. Noodles should be soft but not mushy.

Sauce - makes ⅔ cup (or use equivalent a jarred sauce that you like (Double Golden Fish Brand is Good!))

60 grams Kikkoman soy sauce (reduced sodium is best) (¼ cup)

80 grams white sugar (5 ½ T)

40 grams brown sugar (3 T packed)

50 grams tamarind concentrate (2 ½ T) (I use this brand)

Bring to boil in small saucepan, stirring until sugars are dissolved. Cover and set aside. 

Prepare ahead or while noodles are soaking, and set aside:

4 tablespoons canola oil

1 large carrot, julienned

¼ small onion, minced or grated, or roughly chopped (big pieces for flavor but can easily be removed at end)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1-2 cups chopped broccoli florets

2 eggs, scrambled and chopped (optional, I usually leave out)

8 oz super firm tofu cubes prepared as below*) or 4-8 oz of cooked cubed or shredded chicken

How to Prepare Crispy Baked Tofu

Dry block of tofu with paper or kitchen towels. Cut into cubes. (Most blocks come in 16 oz, so you can freeze half of the cubes for a later time: just lay cubes on cookie sheet to freeze and store in a freezer safe ziptop bag.) Whisk together 1 T oil, 1 T cornstarch, 1 T soy sauce, and 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce or Go-Chu-Jang sauce. Stir 8oz of cubed super firm tofu into sauce. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake on nonstick baking mat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 375 for 15 minutes. Set aside until ready to add to recipe. 

Toppings to Garnish When Serving (optional)

large handful freshly chopped cilantro

large handful of chopped or crushed peanuts

lime wedges or lime juice

Final Steps

Add 4 tablespoons of canola oil to deep nonstick skillet (mine is 3.5 quarts) or wok . Heat over medium heat until piece of onion sizzles. Add onion, garlic, and carrot, and any other vegetables and reduce heat to medium low or low (if garlic starts to burn), stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Onions should be tender and carrots and broccoli should be at least half cooked (can spray with water to steam and speed up cooking).

Raise heat to medium and add noodles, sauce, eggs, and tofu/chicken. Stir frequently over medium heat for 3 minutes. Serve immediately. Garnish individual servings with chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts, and a squeeze of lime juice (optional). 

Notes
*Optional - increase amount of sauce to serve extra on the side.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

These cookies were my favorite growing up and remind me of my childhood. If yours don't turn out perfect, adjust the amount of flour by 1/4-1/2 cup. Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bridal Edition, "Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies" (page 150.) Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

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1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup white sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups old fashioned oats

2.5 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.5-2 cups butterscotch chips

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Preheat oven to 375. Combine softened butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until smooth, with hand mixer or stand mixer (fit with paddle attachment). Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add half of dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, continue with rest of dry ingredients. Gently stir in butterscotch chips. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are just started to brown and there are a few golden spots on top (my oven takes 9.5 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit on tray for 3 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack. Store in airtight container. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies. Store in an airtight container.

White Bean and Bacon Vegetable Soup

Adapted from Pioneer Woman Bean With Bacon Soup. Tastes like a homemade version of Campbell’s Vegetable Soup but with white beans instead of alphabet pasta. Pairs well with cornbread muffins! Also, it's a savory dairy free, gluten free, and low carb recipe. Perfect if you need to take a meal to someone with those needs.

1 small onion, roughly chopped

2 large garlic cloves (or 2 teaspoons minced garlic)

2-4 cups beef broth* OR water with beef broth paste

1 small can tomato sauce (or 3 T tomato paste)

1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans)

1 can white northern beans (drained)

1 can pinto beans (drained)

1 can chili beans (NOT drained)

optional topping for serving:

cooked bacon, crumbled or store bought bacon bits 

*amount of broth depends on how much broth ratio you like in your soup

Directions

Wrap onion and garlic in a piece of foil and put inside a large stove top pot or an Instantpot. Add everything else. The foil wrapped ball will float. Bring to boil and let simmer covered for at least 20 minutes on stove or cook on high pressure for 15 minutes in the Instanpot. Remove the foil and carefully empty the onion and garlic and ladle some of the broth to a blender or large measuring glass. Use the blender or an immersion blender to puree the onion and garlic into the broth until smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir.

For thin clear both, leave as is. For thicker broth dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch in water and whisk into broth. Simmer for 3 minutes.

Top individual servings with crumbled bacon. 

Tool Box Cake

I made this cake for my son's birthday as he is obsessed with Bob the Builder and anything associated with building. He also loves tape measures. I included a picture collage below of how I assembled it. I used a loaf pan for the main cake, froze it, and trimmed the sides off. Then I made the sides of the tool box, the tools, and the tape measure with sugar cookies. I used this recipe which makes a nice firm cookie that will hold up well. I used a sharp steak knife to saw off the ends because they were a little too tall. I free handed the cookie shapes with a sharp paring knife. I used wilton gel to dye the frosting. I used a plastic straw for the handle.

Decorator Cream Cheese Buttercream - 5 variations

I optimized this recipe recently and now I use it for everything from sugar cookies to cakes. I think traditional buttercream is too strong and most cream cheese frosting recipes are too soft for decorating. This has just the right amount of cream cheese and as long as you add the right amount of milk it's also perfect when using a piping bag. I prefer to use a hand mixer with this recipe instead of a stand mixer. It provides better control and you won't have to scrape down the sides. 

Basic recipe below is vanilla (originally posted here), These updated variations include chocolate, peanut butter, lemon, and strawberry (or other freeze dried fruit).

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1/4 cup salted butter (room temp)

2 ounces cream cheese (room temp)

1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (white or dark)

300 grams powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoon milk

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In a medium mixing bowl, whip butter and cream cheese together with hand mixer until smooth. Mix in salt and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and mix with hand mixer at high speed until it clumps together and a stiff ball starts to form. Mix in milk in teaspoons or drops to achieve desired consistency. I always check my consistency with a butter knife. Since this frosting has cream cheese in it, it should be refrigerated if not consumed the same day.

Variations (may omit or reduce vanilla, according to taste preference):

Chocolate - Add 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
Peanut Butter - Replace 2 tablespoons of the butter with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Lemon - Add 1/2-1 teaspoon lemon zest and use lemon juice instead of milk.
Strawberry (or any other freeze dried fruit) - Add two tablespoons of crushed freeze dried fruit powder (use a rolling pin or meat tenderizer to crush the freeze dried fruit in a ziptop bag).
Coconut - 1/8 teaspoon coconut flavoring extract

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

The perfect summer recipe during blueberry season!

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1.5 cups white flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil (or grapeseed)

1 large egg

milk (up to 1 cup volume with egg and oil)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

6 ounces fresh blueberries

coarse sugar (for topping muffins)

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Preheat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add oil, egg, and milk up to one cup total volume in measuring glass, add vanilla. Stir to mix in egg. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir with fork until just combined. Fold in blueberries with a spatula. Spoon into approximately 8-9 muffins cups. Sprinkle tops with coarse sugar. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Slightly adapted from Inspired Taste.

No Cook Vegetarian Taco Salad

This is my favorite summer go-to dinner recipe. Black beans replace ground beef for as an easy and healthy variation. No cooking required! Keeps the kitchen cool and is ready to serve in just 15 minutes!

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mixed greens, torn into bite size pieces

1 (15-ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1/2 package taco seasoning mix (.5 oz)

tortilla chips (plain or flavored)

shredded cheese

avocado (sliced or diced)

sour cream

salsa, or catalina dressing

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Combine taco seasoning mix with black beans. Top torn lettuce with beans, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, etc. Serve with sour cream and salsa or dressing. 

Easy Restaurant Style Salsa

1/4 small onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno (from jar or fresh)

1/2 tablespoon sugar

2-4 tablespoons RealLime brand lime juice (or fresh)

1/4 teaspoon cumin 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, cores removed and well drained*

1 cup cilantro leaves (stems removed)

1/4 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)

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Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, sugar, lime juice, and cumin to food processor and process until everything is well minced. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and pulse about 10-15 times, depending on how chunky or smooth you like it. Salt to taste. Eat or freeze within one week. Best to refrigerate before serving.

*I use a small pairing knife or kitchen shears to cut out the stem ends of the tomatoes. I prefer to use Hunt's brand No Salt Added Whole Tomatoes.

Adapted from Pioneer Woman Restaurant Style Salsa.