Christmas Swirl Cookies

I've recently gotten hooked on Pinterest... Its horrible! every time I sit infront of the computer it's like there is so much out there to look at and get ideas from, and the recipes, oooh the recipes... Anyway I saw this one from Our Italian Kitchen and it just looked so festive! I had to try it. Normally when I make sugar cookies, I add more flavorings, so they aren't ... well.. bland, for some reason the cinnamon I added didn't achieve the kick I was looking for... So mine were eh, ok, but as a base recipe it's good, good, bland festive, sugar cookies. 

2 cups flour, plus possibly a few more tbsp
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cut in chunks)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of food coloring of your choice(and/or 1/2 tsp of any desired extra extracts)

1. In a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended.

2. Add butter in, gradually, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract. At this point, your dough will form a ball on your paddle.

3. Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. I used Wilton gel food coloring in Blue and Red with Cinnamon extract for this batch. You could coordinate your colors and flavors, for example green food coloring matched with a mint extract or yellow with a lemon extract, etc. Also, if you are using liquid food coloring, you will need to add a few tbsp of flour to keep the dough from becoming too wet. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.

4. Roll out each portions of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until is reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is 1/4 inch thick. Slide both unto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

5. When firm, remove the top sheets of wax paper from both. Brush the uncolored vanilla dough lightly with water using a pastry brush. Then flip the colored dough onto the vanilla uncolored dough so they are stacked atop each other and even. Press the edges lightly with your fingertips to seal them together. Using a small pairing knife, trim the edges of the dough to make straight, even lines.

6. Be sure your dough is still cold, but flexible. Once it's ready, begin rolling the long side of dough into a swirl, jelly-roll style. Now, don't get nervous if the outer layer of uncolored dough tears a bit. It's no problem, just pinch and pat those tears and voila, then just keep rolling.
7. . Cover the log completely. Wrap the colorfully decorated log in plastic wrap twice. Depending on when you want to bake the cookies, either place the wrapped dough into refrigerator for about 3-4 hours or you can put it the freezer and keep it there for up to 2 months. (If freezing, give yourself time for the dough to defrost in the fridge overnight before cutting.)
8. Slice your dough into 1/4-1/8 inch slices and bake on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to finish cooling. Enjoy your whimsical Christmas cookies!

Stuffed Peppers!

That's Right, I said stuffed peppers! Its one of my favorite comfort foods :-). Yesterday, out of ideas, and out of vegi's I headed to the store to find something for dinner (this is so often the case) and I thought about stuffed peppers! I haven't had stuffed peppers since the last time my mom made them years and years ago. I had attempted and failed a couple of years ago, while she was still around, I had asked her for her recipe. I don't know if I lost it, or it's on one of the computers in my email (I saved every email from her). It wasn't until this week, while I was talking to my dad that I found out she was a short order cook for a while. Now I know how she learned to do all that fancy footwork in the kitchen! She tried to teach me to flip eggs and pancakes in the pan, "a flick of the wrist" she'd say, but I never could get it right. 
 Anyway, I didn't even know where to begin to look, so I decided to try to remember the flavors and wing it... It really came out good! However, I made WAY too much stuffing for the 6 peppers I had. I suggest halving this recipe for 6-8 peppers. 

Mom's Famous Stuffed Peppers

6-8 peppers (any color you like :-)

1 1/2 c ground beef

2 c white rice (prepared according to the package)

1 can black olives

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

salt/pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 then  Brown and drain ground beef, in large pot (or small stock pot)

2. in the food processor chop finely the olives, onion, and garlic

3 add vegetables from food processor and rice to ground beef mixture, keep on low heat (electric 2-3)

4. add 3/4 can Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to the stuffing, mix thoroughly, salt and pepper to taste, allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes for flavors to meld.

5. Cut and clean peppers then place them in a high sided baking dish, stuff the peppers (its ok to pack the stuffing in) drizzle with remainder of the crushed tomatoes

6 bake for apx 1 hour or until peppers are easily pierced with fork

What's for dinner tonight? Mexican Stromboli's

Hello hello dear readers! 
Tonight I am attempting to reproduce a favorite from our local pizza joint (they are a small store, they make their dough instead of buying it, so far no reactions with them, but to be on the safe side, I'd like to be able to reproduce their recipes that we adore) Harry's Favorite Beef Taco Stromboli. Since I am avoiding pork and beef, I've also adapted Taco Chicken for my Stromboli. So, it should be an exciting night, the beef and chicken are already done, the tomatoes are chopped, and I am currently waiting on the yeast to proof for our pizza dough. Here is my recipe:

Beef Taco Stromboli 
1-1 1/2 lb hamburg (extra for left overs)
taco seasoning,
1/4 c water
1 chopped onions,
1 chopped tomatoes
lettuce chopped,
fresh pizza dough
corn tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa and sour cream for dipping


Brown hamburg with onions, drain, add taco seasoning and water, let settle for 10 minutes. While meat is settling, roll out pizza dough to 1/4 inch, add hamburg mix, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, tortilla chips and shredded cheese, on half the dough, fold empty half of dough over and press dough together. Cook in 475 f oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.




To do Chicken, follow the same order of operations with chicken instead :-)


Here is my dough recipe....



2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Decorating for Christmas

We are doing our Christmas decorating this weekend!!! I hope everyone has had a great long weekend, and a great holiday! I'll be working on the Anual Family picture this week :-)

Jessie's Salad Dressing Recipe's

Thousand Island, 

add (per cup of mayo) 2Tbsp chili sauce,

 2 Tbsp chopped green peppers, 

2Tbsp chopped red pepper or pimento,

 2 Tbsp chopped pickles or olives...

Old-fashioned Russian dressing, 

use 1/2 of a hard boiled egg, chopped, 

1/4 C of chili sauce

 2Tbsp chopped green pepper per cup of mayo.

RANCH DRESSING
1C Mayo
1/2 C Buttermilk
1/2 tsp each: chives, parsley, and dill weed
1/4 tsp each: garlic powder and onion powder
pinch of salt and pepper to marry the flavors.

Whisk everything together and chill at least an hour to marry the flavors. Shake or whisk before serving to redistribute the flavors.

*To make it more creamy, if your butter milk is strong.. you can substitute any amount for sour cream or plain yogurt. You can also add 1/4 C parmesan cheese to it or bacon pieces.

Jessie's Mayo Recipe's (cooked and uncooked)

My friend Jess shared these with me, she says they are yummy. I like these recipes even before starting them because I can see they have more flavor than the one I already tried.  I am going to be baking more bread this week, so I will make one of these and post pictures then :-)

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

This was my first from scratch pumpkin pie, and it turned out great! I hope you like it too! (you can find a lard pie crust in a previous entry.)

15 ozs canned pumpkin
14 ozs sweetened condensed milk (eagle brand)
2 large eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
12 tsp ground ginger
12 tsp ground nutmeg
12 tsp salt
1 pie crust


1 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
2 Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.