Cookies & Cream Cookies

I made these cookies for FHE treats the other night, and they were SO YUMMY! Especially the dough! Just use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and instead of chocolate chips, fold in broken up pieces of oreos. So good......got the idea from pinterest :)

Bierocks Revised

Bierocks is a traditional German meal, but with cheese and all that I add, it's much more american.  This is just the filling.  You can wrap it in dough and bake to make bierocks, or you can serve over noodles.

Once again, I didn't have a picture so I took this one from Janet Sheetz.

1 pound hamburger
1 large onion
3 tsp fresh, chopped garlic
2/3 head of cabbage, chopped
1 tbsp season all
1 tsp black pepper
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
1/4 c. whipping cream (or milk or sour cream if you don't have the whipping cream)
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic in a very large skillet.  Once hamburger is medium well, add cabbage and seasonings.  Stir often.  Once hamburger is cooked though entirely, turn down heat to med-lo and cover with lid.  Stir occasionally.  Once cabbage is soft, add soup, cream, and cheese.  Heat through.  This makes a large batch to be served over two meals or half frozen.  Serve wrapped in dough and baked or over noodles.

Don't let the cabbage scare you- it's super yummy!

White Bean Fennel Soup

On Saturday we received fennel in our bountiful basket.  I didn't have a clue what to do with fennel- I don't even think I've ever eaten it before.  So I found this recipe on allrecipes.com that had a high rating and tried it.  I never even thought to take pictures because it was just a test, but it turned out super yummy!

This is not my picture.  I took it from the original recipe.

White Bean Fennel Soup by Donna Quinn (my changes in parenthesis)

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth (2 cans)
• 1 (15 ounce) can white kidney or cannelini beans, rinsed and drained (2 cans)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (none, I don't like thyme)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (1 tsp pepper)
• (2 tsp kosher salt)
• 1 bay leaf (2 leaves)
• 3 cups shredded fresh spinach (none because we were out, but it would be really good)
• 
  
• In a large saucepan, saute onion and fennel in oil until tender. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, thyme, pepper, (salt) and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 (45) minutes or until fennel is tender. Discard bay leaf. Add spinach; cook 3-4 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

Black Bean Hummus

I have a not-so-secret love affair with hummus.  I have had a black bean version in my "to try" folder for forever, but I was lucky enough to try some at a local earth day celebration and promptly got the recipe.
1, 16 oz, can of black beans- drained, but reserve juices

1, 16 oz, can of black beans- drained, but reserve juices
1, 16 oz, can of garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)- drained
1/2 c. plain yogurt (I used sour cream)
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 head roasted garlic (I used about 8 cloves diced)
1/2 packet ranch dressing powder
2 tsp cumin

Blend all in a food processor.  Add reserved juices if needed to attain proper consistency.

Tomato Garlic & Herb Bread

I've been on a little bit of a bread kick lately.  For years I could NEVER make a decent loaf of bread, or rolls, or anything using dough!  But then a couple years ago my mom came over and SHOWED me every little step.  So now I'm getting a little daring, and have been experimenting and tweaking my recipe a little.  This is the latest........Tomato Garlic & Herb.  I had some leftover sun dried tomatoes from a pasta that I made, so I chopped them up and put them into the dough.  It was so good, especially toasted with laughing cow cheese spread on it, or on a turkey sandwich!  My little girl, Macie, ate about 1/3 of a loaf while it was warm.  While I was trying to get a picture of it she kept stealing little bites, then she stole the whole slice, haha.  That's why I added the pictures......I thought it was funny. 

When I did it, I halved my usual bread recipe, so it made 2 loaves instead of 4.  If yours makes 4, I would probably double these ingredients. 

Favorite bread recipe
1/2 cup hopped sun dried tomatoes (you can get these in the bulk bins at Winco for way cheap)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs Italian seasoning (or you could do whatever herbs you like)
1 egg (for egg washing the crust)

Make your dough, and add the the tomatoes and spices for about the last 2 or 3 minutes of kneading.  Then separate into equal pieces and shape into a ball, then flatten them just a little.  Place them on a greased cookie sheet to rise.  When they are about double, cut three slits in the top of each one, and brush them with the beaten egg.  Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes.  The crust will be dark and shiny, and the bread should sound hallow when you tap it.  Cool on wire racks. 

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I tried this today, and it was SO YUMMY hot out of the oven!  All I did was use the whole wheat recipe that I usually do, and added the cinnamon swirl.  But just use the bread recipe you're used to making, doesn't have to be whole wheat.........

your favorite bread recipe
cinnamon
sugar

Make your dough, then when you're ready to put it into the pans, roll each loaf out into a rectangle.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Roll up and pinch the edges shut.  Then pinch the ends together and fold under (to make it look pretty).  Put it the pans and let rise like normal and bake.  My little girl LOVED this!

Spinach salad with Teriyaki Bowties

Oh my goodness. This salad is scrum-didily-dumpcious! I may or may not have have halved the recipe (which still makes a ton), and then ate the whole thing by myself in two days! Klay hates any cold pasta salad so he didn't didn't like it. But if you're into that kind of thing, you must try this.  

16 oz. Bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
1 - 2 bags of fresh baby Spinach
2 small cans Mandarin Oranges
1 cup Craisins (I left this out)
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 can Water Chestnuts (I didn't have any so I left this out too)
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 cup Honey Roasted Peanuts or Cashews
1/2 cup fresh Parsley (optional)
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds, toasted (optional)
2 cups torn cooked Chicken (optional)

Dressing:
1 cup Vegetable Oil
2/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2/3 C. Teriyaki Sauce
5 Tbs. Sugar

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions, drain and cool while whisking the dressing together in a large bowl. Marinate cooked bowtie pasta in the dressing for 1 hour or longer in the fridge. (I was too hungry so mine only sat in the fridge for about 15 min!) Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pasta over the salad, toss together and serve. If it's just a few of you, make individual salad servings; keeping the salad and bowtie sauce separate for the rest of the week (no one likes a soggy salad).

This really is like PARTY size. I mean, ward party or Johnson family party size. If I was going to take it to an all girl's lunch I would probably still half it! Well, maybe not because then I could eat the other half myself again!

Recipe from The Sisters Cafe.