Cinnamon Crackle Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Additional sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts; mix well. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg, orange and lemon peel and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.
Shape into 1-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 6 dozen.

Recipe courtesy Taste of Home Baking Book

Fresh Tomato Soup

• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered (note: I don't actually peel them...they smooth out in the blender fine!)
  
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk) (note: I used 2 stalks)
  
• 1/2 of a 6-ounce can (1/3 cup) tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or basil
• 2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon sugar (note: when the tomatoes are less ripe I use more)
• Few dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (optional--I never use any)
• Snipped fresh cilantro or basil (optional--sometimes I use the leafs on top of celery stalks too. They add great flavor. And don't worry--they are fine to eat! I looked it up :) )

Directions

1. If desired, seed the tomatoes. In a large saucepan combine tomatoes, water, onion, celery, tomato paste, the 2 tablespoons cilantro, bouillon granules, sugar, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until celery and onion are very tender. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

2. Place half of the tomato mixture in a blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Return all to the saucepan; heat through. If desired, garnish with additional cilantro.

Makes 4 servings (4 cups)

Variation: Chilled Fresh Tomato Soup: Prepare as above, except after blending, cover and chill soup for up to 24 hours.

Easy Berry Cheesecake

Source and picture

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (8 ounces ea.) cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
• 1 can (21 ounces) blueberry or blackberry pie filling, divided

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beating just until combined. Pour into crust. Drop 1/2 cup of pie filling by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cream cheese mixture; cut through with a knife to swirl the pie filling.

2. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Top with remaining pie filling. Refrigerate leftovers.
   

Hot BBQ Wings with Spicy Potato Wedges

I'd like to thank Lanette for the honor of being invited to post on this tasty blog! Joey thinks I should start off by posting a new favorite in our family. No personal pictures this time, so click on the links if you want to see more.

Hot BBQ Wings

8 chicken wings
2.5 ounces Louisiana hot sauce
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. flour
BBQ sauce

Bake chicken wings until done. Mix all of the other ingredients in a sauce pan except the flour and BBQ sauce. Cook over medium heat. Add flour and thicken, stirring constantly. After the sauce has thickened, add BBQ sauce to taste. (This recipe originated as only hot wings, but when I was standing over the stove, I knew it was way too hot without something to calm down the flavor, so I put in some BBQ sauce, and it ended up being delicious!) I put in 1/4 - 1/2 cup, but taste as you go, so that you can get the desired flavor for your taste buds.

Put sauce over chicken wings in a pan and bake at 350 for about 5-10 minutes, to let the sauce and chicken combine, boil, and taste so good, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Source:Applebee's Chicken Wings Recipe


Potato Wedges

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into small wedges (I use about 4 small potatoes, cause I like to taste the seasoning!)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; stir to coat. Place in a single layer in an ungreased shallow baking pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 30-35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned. (I think I baked mine for a bit longer, like 40-45 min.)

Source: Oven Potato Wedges (Note: the potatoes look fried in this picture. They don't look like the picture on this site!)

Creamy White Chili

Hopefully we get a better picture of this soon. We didn't think to take one until it was almost gone. This chili is our favorite! The ingredients are a bit pricey, but it's well worth it. Thanks Rachel Capener for the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cans (15 ½ oz. each) white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chicken broth

2 cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan sauté chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and heavy whipping cream. Serve immediately.

Lemon Meringue Cake

I didn't get a chance to photograph this, so click here (where I found the recipe) to see what it looks like.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup milk
• FILLING:
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• MERINGUE:
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and yolks; mix well. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
Pour into greased and floured 9-in. round Baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack and cool completely.
For filling, combine sugar and flour in a heavy saucepan. Stir in water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Cool to room temperature without stirring. Place cake on a baking sheet; spoon filling on top of cake to within 1/2. of edge.
For meringue, let egg whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Carefully spread over filling, sealing to edges of cake. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients

• Baked Pastry Shell
  
• 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half, light cream, or milk
• 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• Whipping cream, whipped
• 3 medium bananas, sliced

Directions

1. Prepared Baked Pastry Shell as directed. Cool on a wire rack.

2. For filling, in a heavy saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in half-and-half or milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolk. Return all of the egg mixture to the saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.

3. Thinly slice the bananas and arrange slices over bottom of crust. Pour the hot filling into crust. Cover and cool on wire rack until set. Cover and chill to store. Top with whipping cream before serving.