More Cookies...

Ever had one of those mornings when you think the universe is working against you? I see you nodding your heads… Friday was my morning to feel this way.

It should have been a good day since it is the last payday, before Christmas. This means paying the bills, shipping out Christmas presents, grocery shopping and then finding the toys for the Christmas stockings.

I woke up thinking one of the cats was sleeping on my chest. I quickly discovered I lost the fight with my kids flu virus.

The four cats and one of the dogs were on my bed, because they were hungry. There was a commercial on the television several years ago, with an elderly woman and her house full of hungry cats. The woman discovers she is out of cat food, the cats all hiss and the screen goes blank. Yep, that is what happened this morning, and then I remembered I had a can of salmon in the pantry… life saved!

Since the cats are now fed and not threatening to eat me, I grab my keys and coupons and head for the grocery. It is 27 degrees outside, I jump in the Pathfinder only to find for some reason it won’t start. I turn the key; get an rrrrrr tick tick tick sound. The battery is less than two years old, thinking it is just cold I try it again…nope not happening.

 I truly hate to admit defeat, so I call my husband and ask what he thinks. He confirmed it sounded like the battery and I was stuck at home for the day… dang it.

So after a stern warning to my husband, that there had better not be any grief coming from him, because there will not being any food in the house when he gets home at two in morning. I stomp up the basement stairs, to get the evil eye from the cats.

Winston, the youngest cat and the biggest brat runs to his food bowl and starts crying as if he has not eaten in four days. I cock my head to the side to look at him; I wonder if his mom dropped on his head as a kitten and walk away.

The good thing about the day, I got to play with my new stand mixer. I used up all the remaining eggs, butter and sugar but did make a few batches of cookies. I know I gave you seven recipes the other day but I thought I would share a few more.

I ran out of eggs when making this batch of cocoa cookies. Did you know you could substitute 2 Tablespoons of water and 1 Tablespoon of oil per egg? I would not make habit out it, but it does work well in a pinch.

Ingredients:

1 Egg

1 cup white sugar

½ cup butter

2 ¼ cups flour

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 Tablespoon cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat oven 350°F

Cream butter, sugar and beaten egg.

Add flour, baking powder, milk and cocoa

Drop spoonfuls on to greased cookie sheet and bake for 15min. You can sprinkle sifted powdered sugar on these to make a version of Chocolate Crinkles.

Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookies…

If you like the Little Debbie brand of oatmeal cream cookies, you will adore these. These make a very close knock-off. Be careful these can be addicting to your waistline.

Ingredients

2 Sticks margarine

3/4 Cup White sugar

3/4 Cup Light brown sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/2 Cup plain Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Soda

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

2 Cups instant oatmeal

Filling:

1 can Marshmallow Fluff.

Directions: 

Cream together margarine, sugars, and eggs

In a different bowl mix flour,salt, soda and cinnamon

add four mix to sugar mixture and stir to well combined.

Add vanilla and oatmeal

Drop spoonfuls on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees, turn oven to high broil and cook for 3-5 minutes more

Transfer cookies on parchment paper to wire rack to cool.

Using the marshmallow fluff, ice a cookie and place another on top.

Appetizers or Apateezers

If you watch show The Big Bang Theory, you will understand… “Apateezers.” For those of you who have not seen the show… you need to watch season three to get the joke.

The holidays are“party season" and  I thought I would share with you today a few ideas for appetizers.

Hot Macadamia Dip  

This is a nice creamy dip that really brings out the flavor of the macadamia nuts. This is served warm with crackers.

Ingredients:

11 ounces cream chesse, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

1 – 2 ½ ounce jar of dried chipped beef, shredded

1/3 cup onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

¾ cup chopped green pepper

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼  teaspoon ground ginger

¾ cup sour cream

½ coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

 Blend cream cheese and milk until smooth

Stir in beef, pepper, garlic , ginger,  onion, green pepper. Fold in sour cream, pour into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish.

In small skillet, sauté the nuts in butter until thoroughly glazed. Sprinkle glazed nuts over mixture and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. This should make 12 to 15 servings

This next recipe comes from Light & Tasty magazine Dec. 2008. If you saw these across a room, you would think they were a version of deviled eggs. The cucumbers are peeled, sliced in half then stuffed. This recipe makes 44 servings.

 Nutritionally, this would be a great choice for healthy low fat appetizers. The breakdown is as follows: 1 canape equals 6 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 27 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: Free food.

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Canapes Recipe

Ingredients

2 medium cucumbers, peeled

4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon capers, drained

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Spoon into cucumber halves.

Wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until filling is firm. Cut into 1/2-in. slices. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

I found this next recipe on Disney.com and even though it is more geared for children, I know a few adults and teens would go bonkers over these cute little Taco Cups. The recipe only makes about a dozen cups. I would suggest you double it if you are having a good size get together.  I think the kids and I will make these for dinner!

Taco Cups

Ingredients:

1 can of refried beans

½ pound cooked and seasoned ground beef

1 cup shredded cheese, you can use cheddar, I prefer a Mexican blend

1 cup of salsa

½ sour cream

½ sliced black olives

1 bag of Tostitos Scoops

 Optional if making for adults - ¼ cup sliced jalapenos

Directions:

Set chips on a large platter and layer each chip with beans, meat, cheese, salsa, sour cream and olives

This next recipe was sent to from my Dad, he found it on cooking.com It is a nice spin on stuffed mushrooms, using Brie and crabmeat. The recipe calls for jumbo lump crabmeat, if the cost is too much you can try using the imitation crab meat. 

Brie and Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

18 large mushrooms, stems removed & chopped

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

4 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

3 ounces Brie, cut in 18 pieces

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F

Wash and dry mushrooms, remove stems.

Place mushroom caps on a cookie sheet. Brush caps with some of the butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.

In a skillet, sauté the mushroom stems, onion and Worcestershire sauce using the remaining butter.

In a bowl, mix crabmeat and mayonnaise.

Fill caps with mushroom and onion mixture.

Top with crabmeat and Brie. Bake for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and cheese is melted.

The last recipe is from Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade. This would great if you need to transport a dish for either work or family gathering, since it is made in a 4 quart crock-pot. I picked this recipe for my sister, husband and daughter, who if given the chance would live on bacon!

 Spicy Cheese and Bacon Dip

 Ingredients:

16 ounce box of Velveeta cheese

½ pound pepper Jack cheese, shredded. If you can find it, try using Sonoma Jack Cheese

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened

10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with habanero peppers

¾ cup cooked crispy, crumbled bacon

¼ cup diced green chiles

½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Tortilla chips

Directions:

Coat a 4 quart crock-pot with cooking spray, before adding cheeses, tomatoes, bacon, chiles, and pepper sauce. Stir well

Cover and cook on low setting for 3 to 4 hours. Stir once halfway through cooking time.

Serve warm with tortillas