Modified Neiman Marcus Cookies

Cream in a standing mixer 3 minutes with wisps:
2 cups soft butter (room temperature)
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1/8 cup peanut butter


Add 4 beaten eggs and cream for
another minute.
Add:
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
Cream for another 30 seconds and change to
dough hooks.


Add:
5 cups blended oatmeal. (This turns out to be 3 and 1/2 cups once you've run it through the blender.)
1 cup old fashioned oats (I add the 3 and 1/2 cups of blended oatmeal and then 1 cup old fashioned oats.)
4 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 giant grated Symphony or Hershey's chocolate bar
1 bag chocolate chips


Mix until just blended.

Bake for 375 degrees for 8 minutes.
Let cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet.

Yield: 100 cookies

We all know that this story about the woman being charged $250.00 is an urban legend right? But, what an ingenious way to get your recipe spread around the world. I even saw a South African version. Gives new meaning to the term, "smart cookies!" After years of being truly unhappy with these dry cookies, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I've come up with modified version that is much moister and I think better all around. These are the cookies to make when you have a sick neighbor, a bake sale and a dessert needed for school, as they make so many.

I recently added a handful of Heath chips to jazz it up even more.  It turned out just a bit dry, so if you do go with these try 5 eggs for moisture.

Homemade Honey Butter

1 cup soft butter
1 cup honey
1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
1 pkg mini marshmallows (melted in micowave)

Beat until fluffy.

I melted the marshmallows in a small bowl, in three batches and gradually worked them in.
I set microwave on defrost so they didn't get too hot or too hard.
My picture is just horrible but this is really delicious, I promise.

Thai Chilli Cream Cheese Appetizer

Juice of one small lemon

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. lemon peel
1 cup Thai chilli sauce

1 8oz. cream cheese brick

Mix lemon juice, thai chilli sauce and sugar. Pour over cream cheese brick.
Serve with crackers.

This looks gorgeous and has lots of kick. It's a great way to use Thai chilli sauce, which I adore.

Easy to pull off, yet it looks complicated. If you like something spicy and your are tired of cheese balls, try it. My picture doesn't do the food justice.  

A bit better for you, Key Lime Pie

1-9" prepared graham cracker crust

2 cans sweetened condensed milk (that would be a total of 28oz.) This makes a bit more than 2 cups.

Enough plain yogurt to make three cups (this is usually a little less than one cup.) 

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice

1 Tablespoon grated lime zest (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, yogurt, sour cream, lime juice and lime zest. Beat well with a hand mixer and pour into graham cracker crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Do not brown, but look for pinhole bubbles to pop.

Chill before serving.

If you are serving this for dinner, make it before lunch.

When I have made this, it has been too much for the pie crust. I've filled the crust then poured the excess into two custard cups and baked them for a crustless pie.

The traditional recipe calls for three cans of sweetened condensed milk. With this recipe you throw in a little yogurt so you can feel "a bit better" about eating it.

The original recipe is here:
Key Lime Pie VII


Just a side note: Last year on April 26, 2011 I started my recipe blog.  If you would have asked me if I had 52 recipes to share, I would have said, "of course not!" What a surprise to find I'm still going. Not sure how many more are there, but we'll see. Thanks to all who have come along on this journey with me. Discovering the "candy cane cookie" was  a big highlight for sure. Happy one  year mark!

Shirley J Products

Shirley J Onion Seasoning
My mom says you cannot make a roast without this stuff.  It has huge onion chunks and such a dark, deep, color.  I use it soups, stews, and anything you want to heighten the flavor.  You would use this like you would a Lipton onion soup packet.
We took some pictures to compare.  The caramel color difference is striking, I think. 

  Shirley J Onion Seasoning 

  Lipton Onion soup packet  

Shirley J Universal Sauce
I love this stuff.  I always have some on hand.  It takes the guess work out of flour and water and wondering how much you need to thicken your soup.  Just add 1/3 cup to all your soups.  It makes a good white sauce as well.

Shirley J BBQ Sauce Mix
Adore this as well.  I use it in all my pork dishes.  It has some real kick and will flavor your dish perfectly.  I usually add 2 Tablespoons at the first and then maybe a bit more at the end.  You can add it any time.


Shirley J Chicken Bouillon
If you are still buying cubes, time to try the powder.  You can add as much or as little as you like.  I've been told this is stronger than most bullions, so you don't need to add as much, but I like to add around 2 Tablespoons when I am making soup.  I love the flavor of this product and also the ease of measuring. 

Shirley J Beef Bouillon
Same as the chicken, good stuff.
Love these products.  Made right here in Utah, locally.  You will love them too, if you give them a try.
They have lots of other baking products which are grand but for cooking and basics, these are my faves.

Michele's honey-mustard and poppyseed dressing

Honey mustard dressing
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey mustard
1 tsp. poppy seeds
3/4 tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper

Prepare a green salad:
Torn Romaine lettuce
Green pepper
tomatoes
cucumbers
carrots
celery
handful of frozen peas
1-2 chopped, boiled egg
sprinkling of crasins
sprinkling of sunflower seeds
Fresh ground pepper

Pour and toss dressing with salad just before serving.
Serves 8-10

It took me quite a while to realize that this recipe doesn't have honey in it! But, if you use honey mustard you can count it right? This is dressing that anyone can make and it has just enough kick. It is a lot of mustard but you will love it.

Sweet brown rice

2 cups cooked brown rice

Sauce:

2 Tablespoons molasses
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon Yoshida's gourmet sauce
1 teaspoon  brown sugar
Mix in small bowl, pour over warm rice, toss, and top with almonds and chopped dates

Had this at a fancy restuarant and wanted to duplicate it. Dang, if I didn't do it on my first try. You wouldn't think dates would taste good in rice, but this is suprisingly tasty. Very sweet and a great side dish.  I had it with fish, but I would think it could go with lots of things. Alexa, way to go on your photgraphy, girl!

My very best Chicken Panini

Top View

Artisan bread
Kirkland Pesto
Guacamole
Fresh ricotta
Tender cooked chicken
Fresh ground pepper
Weber Kick'N Chicken spice
Juice of 1 lime

Marinate cooked chicken for 1 hour in lime juice and spices.

Take two pieces of artisan bread. On one side spread pesto, then ricotta cheese. Place guacamole on top then chicken. You may add cheddar or pepperjack cheese but this is optional.
Take your second piece of bread and spread some pesto on this piece as well. (The inside of the bread not the side you will be grilling.)
Brush the top and bottom of both sides of sandwich with olive oil and sprinkle with cheese (cheddar looks great, pepperjack gives it a kick).
Grill in a panini maker 2-3 minutes.


Side view


This sandwich is just so warm, toasty, and tasty. Made it for book group and it was a huge hit. Something about the soft inside with the crunchy outside is what made it work so well.

If I were making this today, I would make the ricotta and bread in the morning. (You could also make your bread earlier and pull it out of the freezer the morning of your party.) Getting your chicken cooked and ready will mean all you have to do is assemble your panini the night of your dinner. Then it is just a matter of grilling them.
It took me a good 20 min. to grill 15 paninis.

For book group, I warmed some fresh rosemary in the oil, on the stove, until fragrant and then strained it before brushing on the top of the bread for grilling. It added even more flavor, if that is possible.

You could also cook your chicken in a crock pot and freeze it, or keep it in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. Rotisserie chicken will make this a bit easier to make. It is a bit of work to get ready but then it's a breeze to assemble and cook.
I seasoned my chicken with the spices and lime juice and let it marinate until dinner.
You can see from the picture I stuck a piece of cheddar cheese in this sandwich.  Not sure it's necessary with all the other good stuff.
Have made this a few times since and I wouldn't bother putting cheese inside, but I did find if I sprinkled some cheese on top of the bread , it helped it brown.
You could probably buy your ricotta, but I think the Barefoot Contessa's recipe is just so amazing.  It turns our perfectly everytime I make it, and it tastes fabulous.  You should try it and see how easy it is.

Opulent Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts, raw

1 cup mozarella cheese (in slices or shredded)
3 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 sleeve Ritz crackers crumbled
1/2 cup butter, melted

Place chicken breasts on bottom of 9x13" pan. Place cheese on top. Combine soup, sour cream and lemon juice and pour on top of cheese. Combine crackers with melted butter. Sprinkle cracker mixture on top of sauce.

Bake at 275 degrees for 3 hours.

Serve with rice.

The beauty of this dish is:
1.  How easy it is to prepare.
2.  You cook it for so long the chicken is very tender.
3.  It makes its own gravy. This is my youngest child's most requested meal.

The original recipe was from my Mom's Enrichment night and is Linda Breinholt's recipe. It had swiss cheese, but I found I liked the mozarella much better.

It is the perfect dish to warm you up in the winter time. It is what you crave when you get cold.

Can make 24 hours ahead if needed.

German Pancakes

8 eggs
10 egg whites
2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup melted butter

Melt butter and pour into a 9x13" pan. Spray the rest of the pan and sides with Pam.
Place all other ingredients in a bowl and mix with an immersion blender until smooth.
Bake at 425 degrees for 26-28 minutes.

I used to use 12 eggs. Why 18? Not sure, it must be because I had so many eggs, I was trying to use them up. This will be very high and poofy. My only problem is the last two times I've made them, the tops have actually touched my oven coils. My kids love to eat German pancakes. Talking to a cousin, she told me in Germany they use lemon juice.

Lower fat version
8 eggs
10 egg whites
2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
no butter

This was a bit more springy but I couldn't tell a difference taste wise.  Still good and without the butter.