Mel's Swig Sugar Cookies (copycat)

It is February which is the month to make sugar cookies for valentines!  I found from Mel's kitchen café her favorite copycat recipe for swig cookies, so am going to post on here her recipe:

Swig Sugar Cookies (copycat recipe from Mel)
Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 cup butter (8 ounces, 16 Tblsp) softened
3/4 cup neutral-flavored oil, like avocado, canola or vegetable
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tblsp sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour (use unbleached)
Granulated sugar for pressing the cookies

Frosting:
3/4 cup butter,(12 Tblsp) softened
2 Tblsp sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tblsp cream or milk

Instructions:
1-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cookies sheets with silpat or parchment paper
2-In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or just use a handheld electric mixer and bowl) add the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar.  Sprinkle the baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt across the top of the sugars (don't add the baking soda and cream of tartar in one lump or it might clump while mixing)  Mix until well combined and super creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3-Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and mix until well combined, 1-2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl if needed
4-Add the flour and mix until no dry streaks remain and the mixture is evenly combined; don't overmix.
5-Scoop the dough into about 3 Tblsp sized portions (she uses #20 cookie scoop) and roll into balls.  Place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Add about 1/2 cup granulated sugar to a shallow bowl.  Lightly spray the bottom of a flat bottomed glass with cooking spray and dip the bottom of the glass into the sugar.  Press each cookie into an even thickness dipping the bottom of the glass into the sugar between each press (no need to spray it again with cooking spray after the first time) The edges of the cookies will ruffle out a bit.  It's really up to you how thick or think to press the cookies.  I like them about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
6-Bake the cookies for a 10-12 until just set.  Try not to let them get golden on the edges or very much on the bottom - that means they've baked too long and they may be dry and crumbly instead of creamy and soft.
7-Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.
8-For the frosting, in a medium bowl, with handheld mixer, combine the butter, sour cream and vanilla.  Mix until thick and smooth and creamy for 1 to 2 min.  Add the powdered sugar and cream and mix until well combined and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add additional cream, if needed, to adjust the consistency of the frosting so it is thick but still soft  and spreadable.
9-Frost the cooled cookies and decorated with sprinkles, if desired.

Mels tip:  Be careful not to overflour the dough or the cookies might be dry instead of soft after baking.  If you don't weigh your ingredients, make sure to fluff the flour in the container before scooping in the measuring cup and leveling (don't pack or shake the flour into the cup)


I will be making these in 2 weeks and will come back on and let you know how good or my own tips.

Yummy Cupcakes

Before I found my favorite sour cream almond wedding cake I would make these cupcakes, I didn't want to lose this recipe in case I wanted to use it again,

Yummy Cupcakes
1 package yellow cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding (3.8 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cake mix, pudding, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large mixing bowl.  Beat with mixer for 2 min or until well blended.  Add chocolate chips.  Spoon into cupcakes cups .
Bake for about 19 minutes
Frost with frosting

Nourishing of souls:
I just read a wonderful book by a Rabbi who shares the beauty of suffering.  He shares many stories of people who have cried on his shoulder needing comfort when going through hard things. One chapter stuck out when he said "Life is long" (as most people say life is short) But his point was that sometimes the only thing that can mend heartache is time.  And Life is long enough for that.  It allows us time to get over hard things.  Also, things do get better with time, so luckily life is filled with time! 

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with cinnamon cream cheese Frosting

Megan made these wonderful cookies last time she came over to bake, the best part is the icing!
You will love these, she found it on pinterest from TwoSistersCrafting.com

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
8 oz block cream cheese
3 tsp vanilla 
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
In a mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and fold into cookie batter.  
Mix until well blended
Drop a spoonful of the cookie batter onto a cookie sheet
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 min
Allow to cool
Frost with Frosting
Frosting:
Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a mixer until blneded.
Add powdered sugar a cup at a time and continue to mix until sugar is incorporated
finally add cinnamon

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Megan loves to cook and has been finding some fun recipes to share, she made this tonight and said it was yummy, I am going to make some tomorrow night then! She found it on pinterest from Iowa Girl Eats

Cauliflower Fried Rice
serves 3
Ingredients:
1 Tblsp plus 1 tsp sesame oil
2 eggs
1 small head cauliflower
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 green onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
3 Tblsp Tamari or soy sauce 

Directions:
Combine 1 tsp sesame oil with eggs in a bowl then whisk to combine and set aside.  Chop cauliflower head into big chunks then send through a food processor fitted with the grating attachment.  Alternatively you could grate the cauliflower on a box grater (or now a days you can buy frozen "riced" cauliflower in the freezer section)
Measure out 4 cups grated cauliflower then save the rest for another use.
Heat remaining 1 Tblsp sesame oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat.  Add cauliflower, green onions, and frozen mixed vegetables then stir fry until cauliflower is just beginning to turn tender, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add garlic, season with salt and pepper, and then continue to stir fry until garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds or so.
Push mixture to the sides of the wok to create an opening in the center then add the eggs and scramble.  Toss mixture to combine then drizzle in Tamari and mix again to combine.  Serve hot!

I will let you know how I like it !  Looks yummy!

Mexican Street Corn Dip

Megan brought this dip to our family birthday party and it was such a hit!  It is very yummy! She found it on pinterest from cookingandbeer.com

Mexican Street Corn Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temp
1/4 cup sour cream
3 Tblsp mayo
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder (plus extra for garnish if desired)
salt and black pepper
2 Tblsp unsalted butter
3 cups corn kernels, either cut from the cob or thawed frozen
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed, finely chopped
2 tblsp fresh cilantro, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
2 Tblsp sliced green onions (plus extra for garnish)
1/4 cup cotija cheese (plus extra for garnish)
Corn tortilla chips for serving it with (she likes the Food should not taste this good blue corn tortilla chips)

To a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, cumin, chili powder and a sash of salt and pepper to taste.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.
Add the butter to a large skillet, and melt over medium heat.  Add the corn and jalapeno.  Cook for 7 to 8 min
Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl with cream cheese mixture.  To the bowl, also add the cilantro, green onions, and cotija cheese.  Mix thoroughly.
Pour the dip into a serving bowl and garnish with additional chili powder, cliantro, green onions and cotija cheese.  Enjoy immediately!

Megan did not have jalapeno pepper so she used cayenne pepper instead and it was yummy.

You will love this stuff as well!

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

So we get together once a month for birthday celebrations and for this month I chose to make shredded beef enchiladas, so I looked on the internet for any yummy recipes and I found this one from www.gonnawantseconds.com  and you make the enchilada sauce which is really quite good.  I tweaked the recipe a bit so if you want to see the original and a picture of the enchiladas, go here

Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients:
3 lbs boneless beef chuck Roast
2 Tblsp bacon grease or vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion chopped
4 cloves garlic rough chopped
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 Tblsp chili powder
1 Tblsp ground cumin
1 Tblsp dried oregano
3 bay leaves
2 Tblsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tblsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
8 in flour tortillas
sour cream
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded
2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
1/2 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper the roast, in a large stove top pan brown the roast on both sides, about 5 min per side.  Remove roast from pan and place in a crockpot (she uses the oven but I prefer crockpot) .
Then in that same pan you browned the roast in, add the onions and garlic, cooking over med low heat and saute until soft and translucent (about 7 min).  I used my blender and blended the crushed tomatoes (because I knew kids would be eating it and they dont like chunks of tomato, but if you like tomato chunks, skip the blender part) and then pour the blended tomatoes into the pan, add water chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaves (I did not have any bay leaves so I left them out and it was still good), apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar.  Bring the mixture to a boil for a few minutes.(I also added one reg size soup can of tomato soup to this mixture just to thicken it up and add a little more flavor)  Pour this mixture over the roast in crock pot.  
I cooked my beef roast for about 8 to 9 hours. When it was fork tender, I took out the meat and put onto a platter and shredded with two forks and cut into smaller bite size pieces, and then put that in a pan and add a cup of the enchilada sauce to the meat.

To assemble enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350
Add 1/2 to one cup of pan sauce to bottom of 9 x 13
Set aside 1 cup of cheddar and 1 cup jack cheese to top the enchiladas with
Fill each tortilla with an equal amount of shredded beef about 1/3 cup, 1 1/2 Tblsp sour cream , a layer of cheddar and a a layer of jack cheese.  Roll up tightly and place seam side down in baking dish.
Ladle sauce from the crockpot evenly over top of enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese (she says you will probably have extra sauce)
Bake in oven about 20 to 25 min
garnish with cilantro if desired.

She says you can use the extra sauce for eggs ranchero or to make chicken enchiladas.

These were very yummy, I will defintaley make these again and I loved the homemade sauce recipe part!
Enjoy!

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

This recipe came to me from my daughter Christy who said she has made this several times and her family likes it, it is easy to prepare and yummy.  It comes from Six Sisters Stuff and you can link them here:

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole from Six Sisters Stuff

Ingredients:
1 (16.3 ounce) package refrigerated biscuits
1 pound ground sausage
3 Tblsp flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Lightly grease a 9 x 9 pan with cooking spray, set aside
Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.  Layer half of the cut biscuits in your prepared pan.
Bake for 10 minutes
While it bakes, brown the sausage in a skillet over medium high heat until fully cooked, then drain grease well.
Add flour to the cooked sausage and mix until all is covered
Lower heat to medium, and cook flour/sausage mixture for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 
Add milk, salt and pepper and stir to combine until it comes to a slight boil. 
If the gravy is too thick, add a bit more milk.  You want the gravy to be thickened but not too thick.
pour the sausage gravy over the cooked biscuits
Layer the remaining uncooked, quartered biscuits over the gravy.
Place casserole dish on a baking sheet, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown
If they start to get too brown, you can cover with foil for the last 10 minutes

This serves 6 ( can double in a 9 x 13), prep time is 15 min, cook time is 35 min

Christy says this is yummy so I can't wait to try it!

Thought for the day:

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you;  you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you" James Allen

As a man thinketh, so is he!  Our thoughts are very powerful!  you can control your thoughts.  Make them positive!