Beefy Sour Cream Noodle Bake

 

It’s Spring, but it's still chilly rainy here and here’s a classic recipe that may be the epitome of comfort food for this weather!  It’s a layered combination of meatiness, cheesiness and creaminess!

 

 

Beefy Sour Cream Noodle Bake is a mouthwatering hearty dish of ground beef, tomato sauce and egg noodles combined; a layer of cottage cheese, sour cream and green onions, topped with a layer cheddar cheese.  Simple ingredients that most people like.  

Rustle Up This Tasty John Wayne Casserole for Supper!

 

He was an American icon,
ranking right up there with
Washington, Elvis, Lincoln, MLK, Jr, Superman,
JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Davy Crockett...  

 

 

Painting by Norman Rockwell
 

 He's the Duke, John Wayne! 

 

Heloise's Olive Pecan Spread and a Harsh Winter!

Tom Skilling is predicting lows of -22°, that’s 22° below 0°for tomorrow night, and -20° for Wednesday night-----windchill -42°!
 
He says the highs will be 3° Tuesday, -12° for Wednesday, and -2° Thursday.

We're having the harshest, coldest winter here in decades...

And to top it all of, we had another 6” of snow overnight! 

Just plowed!

Cream Cheese Cut-out Christmas Cookies

From the time Billy and Matt were little boys, this was the cookie they had to have every Christmas, not only for them to eat, but for Santa to enjoy with his glass of milk on Christmas Eve. 

I had no problem baking them; however, there was a catch:  they had to help with the decorating.  Cookie decorating is definitely not my thing.  I use cookie cutters rarely and forget piping bags, I have no patience for them at all.  

 I warned you, ☺ about my cookie decorating, 

but they make up for it in deliciousness!

Santa's, angels, snowmen, candy canes, reindeer, stars, Christmas trees and bells covered the table  ~ plenty of cookies to keep them busy decorating for a good while on a wintry afternoon.  I mixed icing with red and green food coloring, handed them each a knife and we decorated away.  Colored sugar was scattered everywhere, they did a great job, and what a fun mess we made! 

Sadly, those days are long gone, and now this is my go to cut-out cookie recipe.  These cookies are easy to make, although the dough needs to refrigerate for an hour.  Easy to make, delicious to eat, just not so pretty to look at now that I do all the decorating myself...

Cream cheese is the little secret ingredient here that makes these cut-out cookies easy to handle and adds a little tang to complement the sweetness.

I like them rolled out on the thin side and nice and crisp, with just a very slight touch of golden color on the bottom and sides when they come out of the oven.  If you roll them out thicker, they have a softer cookie texture. 

So ~ turn on your favorite Christmas tunes and bake and decorate to your hearts content!

The aroma is wonderful as they bake...

Cream Cheese Cut-out Cookies
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese
2¼ cups flour
1¼ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract

Icing:
3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
Milk
Food coloring, optional
Sprinkles

Method for the dough:
Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed.
Add half of flour, then sugar, egg, salt and extracts.
Beat on low speed until combined.
Beat in the remaining flour on low speed.
Divide dough in half, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to ¼” thick.
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Arrange on baking sheets.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are slightly golden.
Transfer to write rack and cool completely.

Method for the icing:
Beat together sugar, butter and cream cheese in small bowl.
Add extracts.
Stir in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is of spreading consistency.
Add food coloring if desired.
Decorate cookies with icing and sprinkles.
Makes about 2 dozen




Enjoy!

Hot Garlic Crab Crostini

Crostini, plural of crostino ~ “little crusts” in Italian ~ sounds fancier than they really are.  They’re actually just baguette slices that have been brushed with oil; then, most likely, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and baked until golden brown. 

The crispy crunch makes them irresistible to eat on their own; but resist the urge, as they’re the perfect bread slice for this creamy hot crabmeat topping that’s laden with cheese, chives, pimentos and garlic!

Crab crostini are tasty small-bites to prepare for game day, a cocktail party, lunch or a tasty snack. To make preparation really easy, bake the crostini, mix the topping and refrigerate, beforehand, and simply assemble and bake just before serving.

I bet your crowd would adore these little bites as they taste pretty special!

Hot Garlic Crab Crostini

Ingredients:

1 French baguette, cut into ½” slices (24 slices)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (6-ounces) crabmeat, well drained and flaked

1 jar (2-ounces) diced pimentos, well drained

2 ounces Swiss chesse, shredded (1/2 cup)

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chive and onion cream cheese spread

¼ teaspoon red pepper sauce

1 tablespoon fresh chives

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small saucepan, combine olive oil, butter and garlic.

Set over medium heat, and cook until butter is melted and mixture bubbles; remove from heat.

Dip the bread slices into the garlic mixture, turning to coat both sides.

Place on baking sheet and bake until very crisp and very light brown, about 5 minutes; turning over once during baking, if underside is not browning.

Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients except chives in medium bowl.

Spread 1 heaping tablespoonful crabmeat mixture on each bread slice.

Bake about 5 minutes or until filling is hot and cheese is melted.

Sprinkle with chives.

Ummm, mmm ~ lip-smacking deliciousness!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

Creamy Grape Salad Dessert

I just love desserts that masquerade as "salads” or, is it salads that pretend to be “desserts” ~ and Aunt Phyl too!

I’m sure most of you have an “Aunt Phyl.”  Back in Ohio, my parents and many others have passed on ~ Aunt Phyl is the one who keeps the remainder of us connected; us cousins, in particular.  

This isn’t her only good quality; she’s also fun-loving, has a really keen sense of humor, always wears a smile on her face and, she knows a great recipe when she meets one!  Everyone needs an Aunt Phyl just like mine!

Aunt Phyl & Uncle Jake 

Aunt Phyl sent me an email a few days ago, telling me about this dessert which was served at her euchre club recently.  I read the recipe, rushed to the grocery store, and hurried home to get this salad made.  It is sinful!

Those crunchy pecans and the rich brown sugar are the special finishing touches, hiding the grapes below, in a creamy smooth sauce.   Who ever thought of combining grapes with cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and pecans?  This has a plethora of textures and the colors are good too, especially if you use red grapes.  It can be made a day ahead of time as well.

This can be a salad served on greens or it can be a yummy treat for dessert.  Even though, it has grapes in it, and no apples, the flavors remind me of a caramel apple at the county fair or at Halloween time.  This will be a great ambrosial dish for our cook-outs this summer, or a potluck, and yours too! 

Just beware ~ no matter whether it’s a salad or a dessert ~ it’s HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!!!

Creamy Dessert Grape Salad

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds of seedless grapes, red or green

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

8 ounces sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup sugar (or Splenda)

Topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar (or 1/3 cup Splenda brown sugar)

1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

Add grapes to the sauce and combine well.

Top grapes with brown sugar.

Sprinkle pecans over all.

Refrigerate a few hours or make the day before.

Mix together before serving.

Makes about 8-10 servings

It’s heavenly luscious!!!

Thank you, Aunt Phyl!

Is there an “Aunt Phyl” in your family, or are you “Aunt Phyl?”

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes!

Mom’s Pressed Chicken Spread

I was going through Mom’s recipe box recently and came across this recipe.  I don’t know the origin of it but, I remember her making the spread for some pretty tasty sandwiches when I was a kid.  This is simple and light for the hot summer days we’re having now.  

It may sound like a lot of celery---include it all; it won’t give the chicken spread a strong celery taste.  Combining the celery with the nuts adds a little crunch to the spread with the flavors complementing the chicken perfectly.  Mom always put the chicken through a manual meat grinder but I use the food processor for a speedy job.  When adding the broth, be careful not to add so much as to make it mushy.  You can always add more of it or a little mayo if needed after it has been well chilled. 

It’s good on about any type of bread or toast and slider buns also, with a lettuce leaf or two for a savory sandwich; however, spread it on crackers and you are treated to a saporous appetizer! Mom’s Chicken Spread is great summer fare that I hope you try!

Mom’s Pressed Chicken Spread

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless chicken breasts

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

¾ cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon onion, grated

1 tablespoons sweet pickle juice

1 cup celery, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Cook chicken in large sauce pan in salted water to cover until tender and done.

Remove from broth; reserving broth.   Set aside to cool.

Place chicken in food grinder and grind, or food processor or chop fine with a knife.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and mayonnaise, beating well.

Add pecans, onions, pickle juice, celery, salt and pepper.

Stir until well blended.

Place ground chicken in cream cheese mixture and combine thoroughly.

Add ¼ to ½ cup reserved chicken broth to desired consistency.

Mixture will thicken when chilled.

Mom’s note:  chicken will be moister if cooked the day before using and placed in the broth to chill in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!

Sinfully Delicious Lemon Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cookies!

You’re probably like me and have been seeing these cookies all over the internet.  If you like gooey butter cake, you’ll need to make these cookies ~ and then just try not eating the whole batch!

These melt in your mouth cookies are soft on the outside and ooey gooey on the inside.  They have a buttery lemon taste with semi-sweet chocolate chips complementing it.  Rolling them in powdered sugar before baking gives them just the right sweetness and dusting with powdered sugar after baking just makes them pretty. 

The dough should be covered and refrigerated for at least 2 hours before baking to firm up so you can roll the batter into balls.  I let them sit overnight in the refrigerator.  Instead of rolling them into balls, I used a medium cookie scoop which was perfect for the job; not as messy and giving a uniform size.  If you don’t have a cookie scoop, roll the dough into walnut-size balls.

The cookies are usually made with a yellow cake mix but you can substitute your favorite.  Maybe it’s chocolate or strawberry, coconut, pineapple or red velvet.  They’re easy to make and it’s fun experimenting with different flavors.  They’re simple and a hit with everyone!

 

Lemon Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 box Duncan Hines lemon cake mix

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Powdered sugar for rolling/dusting

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Beat in the cake mix.

Add the chocolate chips and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Roll the chilled batter into walnut-size balls or use a medium cookie scoop.

Roll them in powdered sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake 12 minutes.

The cookies will remain soft and gooey.

Cool completely and dust with more powdered sugar, if desired.

Makes 3-3½ dozen

They’re like a little bit of heaven when you take a bite!

Don’t forget to enter my CSN giveaway I posted last Monday!  Today is the last day you can enter!  The drawing is tomorrow.

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!

Another CSN Giveaway and Jam Kolaczki!

Winter is just beginning here in the Midwest with our share of snow, ice and very cold weather with horrific wind chill readings. 

So many people around here love snowmobiling, skiing and even ice fishing.  I remember when I met Bill and he told me about his father going ice fishing.  I thought he was pulling my leg and I was waiting for the punch line.  In fact, his father ice fished quite often.  He had a home-made sled in which he placed a sterno heater to sit on to keep warm; along with an auger, an ice pick plus the usual fishing equipment.  That was paradise to my father-in-law!

My father-in-law loading up his sled to go ice fishing ~ Feb. 1974

Paradise to me is sunning on a beach and swimming in the warm ocean water at the Riviera Maya or in a nearby pool.  If I can’t be there, then second best is parked in my recliner at home, eating these Christmas cookies and watching TV.

Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso ~ Riviera Maya, Mexico

Speaking of TV, if you will be purchasing a new flat screen TV or should be lucky enough to receive one as a Christmas gift, you will be in need of a new TV stand and CSN stores is the place for you to shop for it!  Sean at CSN has kindly given me another wonderful opportunity for a giveaway for you good people.  Look at these great TV stands:    

CSN Stores has about everything you could imagine in their over 200 specialty online stores ~ an amazing array of products for you to choose from.  They have everything from wall art to lighting to au gratin dishes, furniture, baby items and even beds for your favorite cat or dog. 

Or maybe you’d like:

A Chicago Cubs inflatable chair

 or...

A new bed for your favorite cat

So after you browse around CSN and see what you would like to purchase, take a break and enjoy one or two of these cookies with a cup of coffee or tea, if you favor.  The dough for these kolaczki is what makes them irresistible. 

The kolaczki are filled with jam or preserves, such as peach, apricot, strawberry or pineapple.   I made some with apricot preserves and the remainder with blackberry preserves.  They are a very popular item in this area of “Chicagoland” and after making them yourself, you will see why.  They are delicious!

 

JAM Kolaczki

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups flour

Your favorite jam, I used apricot and blackberry

Confectioners sugar

Method:

Cream butter well.

Mix in cream cheese until smooth.

Gradually work in flour until a dough forms.

Gather in a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Roll out chilled dough on floured surface 1/8” thickness.

Cut out circles with a 2” round cutter.

Dot center of each circle with about ¼ teaspoon jam.  Don’t use too much.

Place on greased cookie sheets, or sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper.

Bake until golden about 8-12 minutes.

Let cool for a minute or two.

Transfer to a wire rack.

Sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar when cool.

Mmmm  Mmmmmm!!!!

Now, more about the great $35 gift certificate from CSN…

The $35 gift certificate does not include shipping costs but, you can use the gift certificate on ANY product from ANY one of the CSN sites.

Here are the rules for entering:

1. Leave a comment telling me you are a follower through Google Friend Connect (on the side bar of this blog) and tell me what you would like from CSN when you win the giveaway.

2. For an extra entry, follow this blog on the Facebook Networked Blogs (on the side bar of this blog) and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

3. This giveaway is open through midnight, CST, Monday, December 27^th.  The drawing will be by a random number generator on Tuesday, December 28^th and is open to US entrants only. 

Good luck and I hope you win!

Mom’s Roquefort and Watercress Dip

With barbecue season getting in full swing, we all need appetizers to serve our guests and this is a great recipe of Mom’s.  She made it many times and we always thought it was a wonderful thing.

If you love Roquefort cheese the way I do, this recipe is a must try.  It is delicious served with raw vegetables, particularly mushrooms and cauliflower.  Besides the Roquefort and watercress, the dip is packed with good flavors such as cream cheese and Tabasco.

Watercress is a fast-growing aquatic perennial plant and is one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by people.  It has a peppery, tangy flavor and if you’ve ever attended an afternoon tea, you’ve probably enjoyed it in those dainty tea sandwiches.  

ROQUEFORT AND WATERCRESS DIP

Ingredients:

½ pound Roquefort cheese

1 cup finely chopped watercress

Couple of dashes of Tabasco sauce

¼ pound cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream

Method:

Cream Roquefort and cream cheese together until soft and smooth.

Add cream until mixture is of a dip consistency.

Add Tabasco, mixing well.

Fold in chopped watercress.

Prepare platter of raw vegetables: cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, celery, zucchini, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes.

Place dip in center of platter and surround with vegetables.

Serve

It’s delicious; try it for your next party!