Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

These are soft, chewy, dense, and the easiest cookie you will ever make! And with only 3 ingredients, how can you go wrong?? You really should try these...

Start off by cracking 2 eggs in your mixing bowl. Blend for about a minute so the eggs are smooth. Dump in 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of peanut butter (or any other nut butter!) and blend again. Use crunchy peanut butter if you want some texture. Plop small spoonfuls onto your baking sheet, press with a fork, and bake at 350 for somewhere around 10-12 minutes. Presto! 

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

*This is a wonderful recipe for gluten-free cookies, since it requires no special ingredients! To ensure gluten-free preparation, use a new jar of peanut butter or a jar designated for gluten-free use, because crumbs from your bread almost always find their way in and contaminate it!

Raspberry Coffee Cake

This is Meredith Wilson's recipe that has been served at showers and I made it for the fondue breakfast, for those of you who stayed.

2 C flour
3 oz
1 T baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ C butter
¼ C shorting
½ tsp salt
½ C raspberry jam
½ - 2/3 C buttermilk

Frosting:
½ C powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1-3 tsp milk

In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in cream cheese, butter, and shorting until crumbly. Stir in just enough buttermilk to moisten. Knead 5 strokes. Grease center of a baking sheet 4-inch lengthwise strip. Roll dough on waxed paper 8x15 inches and turn on to baking sheet. Spread jam down center and leave 3 inches of dough on either side. Cut ¾ inch strips all the way up to the jam. Fold strips over to create a braid. Bake 425 for 15 min. Mix frosting in a little bowl, drizzle on top of slightly cooled braid.

Roasted Asparagus Lasagna

This recipe is a wonderful springtime recipe as it incorporates fresh asparagus. It's one of our favorite recipes to make in early spring when the asparagus is fresh and crisp (and somewhat inexpensive!). Although it is vegetarian, it's a very "meaty" dish and is sure to fill you up.

Roasted Asparagus Lasagna

2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
dash ground cloves
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place asparagus and mushrooms in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil; toss to coat. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are browned; set aside. Reduce heat to 350 degrees.
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and cloves until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside. In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in remaining oil until tender. Remove from heat; add roasted asparagus and mushrooms.
In a greased 13x9 inch baking dish, layer four noodles, a third of asparagus mixture, a third of the white sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers twice.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Yield: 12 servings

The Mystery

Okay, so 1st born Villager, are you going to reveal yourself? I have tried in vain to figure out who you are and I hear that my one educated guess is incorrect. So...any hints?

Butter Toffee

I got this recipe from Katie's copy of Tasha Tudor's Take Joy. It is easy to make, hard to stop eating, and a gluten free dessert!

1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C water
1/2 C butter
Melt all these in a sauce pan. Heat to 285 degrees. (I highly recommend a digital thermometer).
Add:
1/2 C chopped cashews
Pour onto a buttered cookie sheet (with sides). Cool.
Melt:
6 oz chocolate chips
Spread on cooled toffee. Sprinkle with some more chopped cashews. Cool.
Melt:
6 oz chocolate chips
Flip the toffee out of the pan. It will probably break into a few pieces. Spread with the chocolate. Sprinkle a little more chopped cashews. Let cool and break into small pieces. Store in an air tight container. Best if eaten within 2 weeks... and with a cup of tea!

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

I was making this batch of creamy goodness this week for Riley and myself, and realized that it was downright selfish of me to keep from sharing it with the rest of you! You should really try this. It's fantastic, and so simple!

Pour about a cup and a half of heavy cream into a medium saucepan. Add a little over 1/4 cup of butter, about 5 tablespoons, and stir until it starts to boil. Turn your burner down to low and simmer for a minute. Add a generous fistful of freshly grated parmesan cheese (It's gotta be fresh! Don't even try the stuff in a can!) to the sauce and whisk until smooth, stirring for another minute. Try to keep from drooling, you're almost done...

Season with pepper and a generous pinch of nutmeg (the 'secret' ingredient), but avoid adding salt, because parmesan tends to be salty enough on its own. Pour over your pasta of choice with another fistful of cheese and toss to coat. This makes enough to cover a 16 oz bag of pasta perfectly.

Go ahead and serve it with extra parmesan and even a little fresh snipped parsley on top for presentation, if you want...

Yum, yum, yum!!

p.s... this sauce is, of course, gluten free. Gluten free noodles can be found at Kroger or health food stores...

Borscht

This soup is really tasty, nutritious, and fairly inexpensive. It has become our weekly winter soup. 

I thought it would be appropriate to post this for Valentine's Day- it is a wonderful pink soup from Eastern Europe.

Serves about 8

Ingredients:

8 cups vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

4 large beets, peeled and chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

2 cups chopped white cabbage

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 cup sour cream (I prefer plain yogurt)

1 T. finely chopped dill (only necessary for decorative garnish)

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Bring 4 cups of vegetable stock to boil with the garlic and onion in a large, heavy- based saucepan. Add beets, potato and carrots, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours to form a broth.

Next, cool the broth slightly. Chill in pot until cool. Then put in the fridge overnight (this is the key to the depth of flavor). Next day, add the remaining 4 cups of stock, bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Stir in chopped parsley; cook until the cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with generous amounts of salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar. At this stage, you should choose whether or not to liquidize the soup. I love to blend it to a smooth, deeply colored, thick soup! It is absolutely beautiful.

Serve topped with sour cream (and yogurt) and dill. 

Valentine's Day Treat

It was hard deciding what to post first...How should I make my debut? Should I go humble, or pull out all the stops? I think this recipe falls somewhere in the middle, and is quite appropriate for the Season of Pink and Red into which we are thrown every February--like it or not!

Sweetheart Custard Dessert

• Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
• Confectioners' sugar
• CUSTARD:
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/3 cups milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• TOPPING:
• 2 to 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon shortening

Directions:

Roll out each pastry between waxed paper into a 12-in. circle. (I always make my own simple Betty Crocker crust.) Using an 11-in.-wide heart-shaped pattern, cut each pastry into a heart shape. Don't worry if they aren't exactly the same. If one's a bit bigger, just use it as the bottom heart. Place on greased and floured baking sheets; prick with a fork. Bake at 450° for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt; gradually stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
Remove from the heat. Combine the egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk mixture; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in butter. Cover; refrigerate until cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream and confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently whisk the lemon custard, then fold in whipped cream.
Place one pastry on a serving plate; spread with half of the custard. Arrange half of the berries over custard. Top with remaining custard. Arrange remaining berries over filling. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening. Drizzle over the top. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 8-10 servings.



Our family loves this treat. We all eagerly anticipate its annual appearance on the table.

Spinach Salad

Posted by: Meg
As we anticipate spinach in our gardens in the coming months (or just buy the big tub from Sam's), I thought this would peak your interest.
½ C olive oil
½ C cider vinegar
¼ C sugar
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp celery seed
½ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp Tabasco

Pour over fresh spinach, red onion, mushrooms, bacon, and eggs

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

Posted by: Meg
This is our favorite fall soup, but it is nice all winter long.

6 med baking potatoes, peeled chopped
2 TBS olive oil
½ tsp pepper
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium onion, chopped
3 C chicken broth
1 C water
1 C whole milk
Salt
4 oz Colby or cheddar sliced

Oven 425. Place potatoes in baking dish. Drizzle with 1 TBS oil and pepper. Stir to coat. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Turn potatoes with metal spatula, and add garlic. Bake 20 min.
Set a side about 1 cup potatoes.
In a sauce pan, heat 1 TBS oil and cook onion for 5 min. Add potatoes and garlic from pan. Stir in broth and water. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer covered 20 min.
Blend soup in blender ½ at a time or in pot with hand soup blender. Stir in milk. Season to taste with salt. Heat through. Garnish with a slice of cheese and the remaining 1 C potato pieces.

Spaghetti Pizza Pie

Posted by: Meg
We have been having spaghetti a lot this month, and I am getting rather tired of it. So last night I changed it up and made it into a spaghetti-pizza pie:

Spaghetti noodles
Spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
pepperoni

Cook the noodles. Butter a casserole dish. Put noodles in casserole. Pour spaghetti sauce on top (ours was some homemade with ground beef in the sauce) then top with as much of the cheeses you want. Finally, litter the top with pepperoni. Bake at 350 for maybe 30-45 minutes or so.

Whipped Mocha Frosting

This frosting is simply delish! It stays fresh in the fridge for several days, and also freezes well. Warm to room temp before using (don't microwave) and whip with your mixer until it's fluffy again.

Enjoy...

4- 1 oz squares semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 c butter

1 lb powdered sugar (3 1/2 c)

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp instant coffee

1/2 c milk

Slowly melt chocolate in double boiler on stove top or in the microwave. Don't overcook it! Set aside.

Stir the coffee into the milk and let sit to dissolve.

Stir the butter in a large mixing bowl to soften. Beat in half of the sugar. Blend in the chocolate and vanilla. Add the remaining sugar alternately with the milk/coffee mixture, beating until smooth and of a good consistency. (This takes a little while. Be patient!) It should be a little light in color, fluffy, and oh-so-delicious! 

A word to the wise: If you try to frost your cake before it's all the way cooled, you will end up with a mud-puddle on the top of your cake. Patience, my friends! (I just found this out this weekend... oops!)

Easy and Delicious Mustard-Roasted Fish

This recipe is so simple and a delicious way to cook fish. For a treat, you can get fresh fish daily at the Blue Marlin on Bedford Ave off of Rivermont. 

4 fish fillets (I have used grouper and mahi mahi)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces creme fraiche

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (I didn't have this and it was fine)

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 teaspoons drained capers

Preheat oven t0 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with foil, place fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, two mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 tea. pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. 

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. 

Serve! 

I actually halved this recipe for Philip and I and we split one fish fillet... we have found with sides one fillet b/w the two of us is more than enough! So you can take that into account for big or small amounts of people. 

My Kid's favorite Chicken Nuggets

4-6 Chicken Breasts, skinless, deboned, cut into cubes (kitchen shears work great)
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
Breading:
1 Cup Butter Crackers (about 24), crushed
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 tsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Basil
1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix all breading ingredients. Dip chicken cubes in melted butter. Dip buttered pieces in the breading until coated and place on a pan covered with aluminum foil. Bake at 400* for 20-25 min. Enjoy!