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.