Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies

Not sure where this recipe originated, but it has become a favorite for holiday gifts.

1 c. butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 T sugar, divided
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 package (13 ounces) Rolo candies
4 squares (1 ounce each) white baking chocolate, melted

Cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda in separate bowl. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

Shape a tablespoon of dough around each candy, forming a ball. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pecans. Dip each ball 1/2way into nut/sugar mixture and place nut side up 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet.

 Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Yield: about 5 dozen

Thumbprints

This is the original recipe given to me by a friend of a friend. I almost always at least double it...sometimes triple depending on the size of the crowd. The original recipe only makes 12 cookies.

1/2 c. Shortening
1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. finely chopped nuts
confectioners sugar
butter
jar of maraschino cherries, save the juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until blended.

Blend flour and salt. Add into wet mixture. Roll dough into 1" balls.

Beat egg white slightly with a fork. Dip dough balls into egg whites and roll in nuts. Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb gently into the center of each cookie.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make an icing out of butter, confectioners sugar and maraschino cherry juice. There are no measurements on this one. You'll have to eyeball it. NOTE: add the juice slowly. You will need much less juice than you may think.

Fill each thumbprint hole with tinted icing and top with 1/2 of a cherry, curved side up.

Angie's Green Bean Casserole

This recipe came from my friend Angie. The measurements aren't exact so you have to eye-ball it. It was really, really yummy. I'm going to try it with the homemade cream of mushroom soup I posted on here.

1-2 bags of frozen organic green beans
one box of trader joe's cream of mushroom soup
a little milk or water
salt and pepper
1/2 can of trader joes fried onions.

Mix the ingredients together and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Easy Stir Fry Sauce

*originally from food.com

This was super easy to make, and it can store in the fridge, too. I used this with frozen stir-fry veggies and served over pasta. Yummy!

In a large jar with a lid, add:

2-3 T cornstarch
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. ground ginger or a bit of fresh minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups broth (any kind)

Put on the lid and shake well. To use, stir fry the veggies and/or meat and then add sauce (I used about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the recipe made). Bring to boil, boil for 1 minute until slightly thickened.

Homemade Cream of _____ Soup Substitute - Dairy Free

I know at least one of you had asked for this recipe, and I am adding it here so I can find it again in the future. It is SO yummy and easy to make. It also uses ingredients that I usually have in my house. I used this to make a dairy-free chicken and rice casserole, and it was delicious. Just to kind of creamy comfort food that I miss on our dairy-free diet. Can be gluten free if you use a gluten-free flour.

The original recipe is for Cream of Chicken, but if you look at the end, there are notes for making Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery, too.

Originally from mywisemom.com

Ingredients (yields 4 cups, approx 2 cans)

• 2-1/2 cups organic chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cup almond milk
• 3/4 cups flour (gluten-free, if needed)
• 1 teaspoon real salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 cup cooked celery (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken broth with 1/2 cup of the almond milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
2. Whisk the flour and seasonings into the remaining cup milk until smooth. The mixture will be thick.
3. Pour the milk/flour/seasoning mixture into the broth mixture in the saucepan and reduce heat to low. Stir/whisk continuously as it simmers to avoid lumps.
4. Continue whisking 5-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick.

For cream of mushroom, add 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.For cream of celery, add 1/4 cup diced, cooked celery pieces after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.

Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Bourbon Sauce

This is the recipe we had to celebrate P's birthday. It is originally from my recipes.com. I tripled the recipe for the birthday dinner (7 adults, 6 kids), but we ended up having about 3/4 of a pan left.

Bread pudding:5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 8 ounces)
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk 
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk (I used almond milk since that's what we had)
1/3 cup granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs

Sauce:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
6 tablespoons half-and-half, divided 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray 
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bread pudding, arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted. (I did this ahead of time)

3. Combine evaporated milk and next 7 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add bread cubes. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to soak up milk. (I did this ahead of time... but I wouldn't recommend transporting it!)

4. To prepare sauce, combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons bourbon, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Stir in 5 tablespoons half-and-half; simmer 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup. Remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon half-and-half, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.

5. Spoon half of bread mixture into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 3 tablespoons sauce over bread mixture. Spoon remaining half of bread mixture over sauce. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm sauce with bread pudding.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Delicious!!

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans corn, drained and rinsed
Juice of 2 limes
olive oil
tomatoes, chopped
red onion, chopped
salt
cilantro

Mix black beans and corn together in a large bowl.  Add the lime juice. Drizzle with olive oil.  Stir.  Add the tomatoes, onion, salt and cilantro to taste.  Stir it all in and serve right away or let it refrigerate ahead of time.

Brazilian Rice

1/4 c. olive oil

2 tsp fine sea salt

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 white onion, chopped

2 c. basmati rice

3.5 c. water


Directions:

• Pour oil in a sauce pan...it should cover the bottom in a thin layer
• Add onion, garlic and salt and sautee until onions are tender
• Add rice and stir until coated with oil
• Add water
• Tilt lid on pan so it is half covered
• Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium/low 
• Cook until all water is absorbed

If you want to change the amount of rice, just keep these ratios consistent:

• cups of dry rice =  the # of tsp. of salt
• 1 c. of rice to 1 3/4 c. water

Protein Bars

Not sure where this recipe originated, but I got this from the Kasels.

2 cups almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds, chia seeds or pumpkin seeds (ground in a coffee grinder or blender)
1/2 c. dried prunes, dates or raisins (we used prunes)
1/2 c. shredded coconut (unsweetened)… but I used sweetened because it's so yummy!
1/2 c. peanut or almond butter
1/2 c. coconut oil or butter (melted)
1/2 c. honey
2-3 tsp. vanilla extract
a few squares of dark chocolate (optional)

Place almonds, flax seed meal, dried fruit, shredded coconut, and almond/peanut butter in a food processor. Pulse briefly for about 10 seconds. In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat. Remove from stove. Stir honey and vanilla into oil. Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.

Press mixture into an 8x8 glass baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously. Spread melted chocolate in a thin layer over the bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes until chocolate hardens. Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve. Store in refrigerator or freeze for later.

16 bars = 310 calories per bar.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)

*Recipe from allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min.
Ready in: 1 Hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
4 T. olive oil, divided
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 quarts cold water
6 oz. linguica sausage, thinly sliced (I used spicy Italian sausage)
2 1/2 tsp salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1 pound kale, rinsed and julienned (I used one bunch of kale, which was less than 1 pound but still plenty of kale)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in 3 T. olive oil for 3 min. Stir in potatoes and cook, stirring constantly, 3 more min. Pour in water, bring to a boil, and let boil gently for 20 min., until potatoes are mushy.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over medium-low heat, cook sausage until it has released most of its fat, 10 min. Drain.

3. Puree the potato mixture in a blender or food processor. Stir the sausage, salt and pepper into the soup and return to medium heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

4. Just before serving, stir kale into soup and simmer 5 minutes until kale is tender and jade green. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and serve at once.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

We've been making these a lot recently:

Ingredients:
1½ lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine brussels sprouts, oil, maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast 18 to 20 minutes or until tender, stirring once.

Bean and Chicken Sausage Stew

Hi girls. Nick made this for dinner this past week and it was yummy. I thought it was a successful find considering it's very quick and easy to make, and meets all of our family's various food preferences/needs.  It's also fairly nutritious, depending on how you feel about chicken sausage. The recipe comes from Real Simple.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 12-ounce package fully cooked chicken sausage links, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 14.5-ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale leaves, torn into 2-inch pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
1 loaf country bread (optional)

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the beans, broth, and tomatoes and their liquid and bring to a boil.
Add the kale and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the bread, if using.

Baked Oatmeal

We make this the night before and then bake it in the morning. This is the dish I brought to Christmas brunch. Enjoy! *Original recipe by Heidi Swanson*

2 c. rolled (not instant) oats
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup sugar or maple syrup (plus more for serving)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
2 c. milk (room temperature works best)
1 large egg (we usually use 2)
1 1/2 Tbs butter melted, plus some to grease the pan
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, sliced
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
(*We have also added copped apples to this as well as raisins*)

1. Preheat oven to 375F with rack in top third of oven. Butter 8x8 in pan.

2. In a bowl, mix together oats, walnuts, sugar (NOT maple syrup if using), baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, whisk maple syrup (if using), milk, egg, butter and vanilla.

3. Arrange bananas in a single layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 2/3 of berries over top. Cover fruit with oat mixture. Slowly drizzle milk mixture over oats. Gently give baking dish a few thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through oats. Scatter remaining berries on top.

Bake 35- 45 min, until golden brown and oats have set. (Ours always takes at least 45 min. - 60 min.) Serve with extra syrup.