Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Melt in Your Mouth Shortbread Cookies

Does it ever amaze you how you can be married for 25 years and then, out of the blue you find out something about your spouse you never knew. Such as, his pet peeve is breaking the spaghetti noodles in half before cooking them. Or that his second favorite kind of cookie (after the obvious chocolate chip) is shortbread.

Last night we wanted a little treat, and with this new information and knowing I didn't want to whip up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies, I found this little gem. Only 4 ingredients and they truly do melt in your mouth AND they were so quick to make.


 
MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

1 cup butter (no substitutes)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups flour

Make sure you butter is softened (9-11 seconds in the microwave usually does it). Whip the puddin out of the butter. Put your mixer on high and let it go for about 3 minutes (wipe down the edges once or twice). Add your powdered sugar and let it mix another minute or so. Then add the cornstarch and flour. Whip it again for an additional 2 minutes.

Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. The dough is soft so I used my cookie scoop. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. You want the edges so they are just starting to turn light brown. Take them out and let them sit for a few minutes to cool or they will fall part.

Just as good the second day :)

My Notes: I think these would be a great holiday cookie, You could drizzle with a little chocolate like the picture, or put your thumb print in the top before baking and add a little dollop of jam. It could be a versital dough to play with.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Pesto Baked Chicken

This is what we had tonight (per request from my 10 year old). I like this because if you make your own or look really hard, you can find pesto sauce which is SCD compliant for my 17 year old. It is also VERY EASY to make, which you will like. I would also say that it is a nice enough dish to make for company. So, all pluses and no minuses.

I got it from this site (they have a picture too)....
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2010/09/easy-recipe-for-baked-pesto-chicken.html

Pesto Baked Chicken

Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chickenn breasts
salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning chicken
1/2 cup basil pesto
2 oz. (1/2 cup) grated low-fat mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces. 

Spray a 9" x 12" baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake the chicken for 30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Don't cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.)

When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted. After the cheese is melted for 5 minutes, switch oven to broil and broil for 5 minutes more, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned.

Serve hot. There will be some flavorful juice in the bottom of the dish when this is done, so you may want to serve with rice, couscous, or quinoa to soak up the juice, but if you're eating this for phase one, just spoon the juice over the chicken.
 
I bought a container of pesto and didn't measure it all out. I put half on the bottom and spooned the rest over the top of the chicken. I then grated cheese over the top until it was all covered. So don't worry about measuring it all out, it will still turn out yummy.

Pumpkin Dessert

My mom was gallavanting around the country this summer and picked up this yummy recipe in the process. We may let her gallavant around more often if she comes home with more gems like this. She made it for us Sunday and I added it to my list of definite blog worthy recipes. I am making it tomorrow for my daughter's teacher appreciation luncheon, so will post a picture tomorrow after making it.


Pumpkin Dessert

2 (15 ounce) cans solid pack pumpkin
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional, unless you are me, then they are required)

Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Line a 13 X 9 inch pan with waxed paper and coat the paper with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk and sugar (she also added 2 tsp of cinnamon). Beat in eggs and vanilla. Pour into prepare pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix and drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with pecans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. When cooled, invert onto a large serving platter; carefully remove wax paper. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Frost dessert. Store in refrigerator.

She used real whip cream instead of the whipped topping. It was delicious :)