I made cookies!!!!

Steven was told to bring a dessert for his family Christmas Day. I am super busy and didn't have time for anything fancy and didn't want to just bring something from Winn Dixie so I took a stab at cookies.

I am a very bad baker, normally, but I decided to try Land O Lakes recipe for Cinnamon Blossoms. I had everything needed and it sounded pretty easy. Plus, they came out really good!

Here is the recipe from their website. My changes are in bold.

Preparation time: 50 min LOL took me like 20 minutes
Baking time: 8 min

Yield: 5 dozen cookies opps, mine must have been too big, I think I got like 24

1		cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened I used unsalted
3/4		cup sugar
1		egg yolk
1		teaspoon vanilla
2		cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2		teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4		teaspoon salt
60		mini chocolate candy kisses I got the regular size with almonds

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, cinnamon and salt. Beat until well mixed.

Fit cookie press with desired template; fill with dough. Press dough, 1 inch apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. I didn't have a cookie press so I rolled mine into balls (apparently made them too big too)

Immediately place 1 candy in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf

Okay, so the picture don't make this look very good but it is real easy and yummy!

Preheat oven to 375

1 lb Ground Turkey (I get the 93/7 one)
1/2 cp Italian Bread Crumbs
1 tsp Dried Oregano
3 slices Provolone Cheese
1 egg

Break up one piece of cheese. Mix together ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, oregano, cheese pieces. Divide the turkey into three sections (two about equal and one smaller). Take one of the larger sections and form a ball, flatten it out a big with an indent in the middle about the size of a slice of cheese and lay a piece of cheese in the indent. Cover with smaller section of turkey. Put the 3rd piece of cheese and cover with last section of turkey. Form into a nice round shape and make sure cheese is covered on sides with ground turkey.

Bake for approx 45 minutes.

Banana Bread with Pecans

They had some bananas on clearance at Winn Dixie so I decided to take a stab at Banana Bread. I ended up using aTyler Florence recipe on Food TV. Only difference was I used less butter but it was yummy. Steven is already asking me to make more.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt(I only used a pinch since I had salted butter)
  
• 4 overripe bananas
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used one stick of salted)
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

Classic Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna so I went to google. Of course, when I saw the 3rd recipe was a Giada recipe I had to make it. Took a little while to prepare (make the tomato sauce first!) but it was pretty good (and I am not a lasagna person). The recipe is C&P from Food Network. Their picture is pretty than mine but I didn't want to steal it too.

Ingredients

Bechamel Sauce:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk at room temperature
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
• Salt and white pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground chuck beef
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Quick and Yummy Salad

So this isn't really a recipe but I have been in search of a quick and easy salad I could eat since that is way healthier than just looking around and eating the first junk I find.

A bowl full of spring mix or fresh spinach leaves (I get the bags of it) with purple onion, cold turkey pepperoni, feta cheese crumbles and topped with some ground peppercorn pepper and a little EVOO. Very quick, easy, and yummy!!

Beef and Lentil Soup

Giada De Laurentiis Beef and Lentil Soup from Family Dinners

I made this today because I wanted something different, it was good too. Changes I made are in parentheses. I was lazy and did put all of my veggies in the food processor instead of hand chopping. I am sure it would be a prettier soup if you could actually see the carrots and celery.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes (I had 2 .90 packs of lean stew beef)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped (I used the blender b/c Steven don't like carrots)
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 (14-ounce) cans beef broth (I had 2 boxes of beef broth, I think it was 64 oz total)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (I use 2 "regular" size cans)
2 cups (about 11 ounces) lentils, rinsed
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (I used curley leaf)

Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary, and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the lentils. Cover and continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes (Mine cooked about 1.5 hours). Stir in the parsley (I accidentally added this with the lentils). Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.

EVOO Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Pictures were taken when I made this dish again and didn't have the fresh egg noodles so I used regular. This actually could become a very healthy dish and eat without the pasta. The chicken and veggies themselves are very filling!!!

This is very different for me but it was really yummy!!!

I was in the produce section at Winn Dixie and saw fresh egg noodles (but they were long and wavy not fat like regular egg noodles) and decided to try them. Then I was passing the stir fry mixes and that sounded good I just didn't want the soy sauce so I created my own stir fry.

3 cleaned and cubed chicken breast
1 bag fresh egg noodles (will need a little over half)
1 bag baby carrots
1 green bell pepper (or whatever color you like)
1 head broccoli
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
EVOO
Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder

Heat EVOO (enough to cover bottom) in large pan. Put in 1 tablespoon garlic and carrots, cover and let sizzle about 10 minutes to get carrots soft.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta.

Slice onions into circles and bell pepper into strips. Break up broccoli.

Season cubed chicken with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder. Add to pan. Let cook about 10 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through) then add rest of chopped veggies. Cook down about 6 minutes.

Drain pasta (only needs to cook about 5 minutes) and add to pot. Mix all together and let cook over high heat about 3 minutes. Mix the whole time. Serve.