Basic Shortbread

I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's website. It is super easy and very tasty and can be stored for a month and the flavor just deepens.

Makes a 13x9

1 1/3 cups of butter
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Butter a 13x9 baking pan, and line bottom with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating on low speed until just combined.

Press dough into prepared pan, leveling and smoothing the top. Using a knife cut dough lengthwise into nine strips, each slightly less than 1 inch wide. Cut the strips crosswise into thirty-six 3-inch bars. Using the tines of a fork or a wooden skewer, create a decorative pattern on the surface.

Bake shortbread until evenly pale golden, but not browned, 70 to 85 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Invert pan, and remove parchment. Turn shortbread over, and carefully break, or cut with a serrated knife, into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Holiday Punch

This came from an old CWS homeschool group cookbook. I think the original recipe came from Rhonda Hart.

4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon almond extract
2 quarts ginger ale

Combine first four ingredients. Stir until sugar is disolved. Chill. Add ginger ale just before serving. Fills up a large punch bowl.

Cranberry-Horseradish-Cream Cheese Dip

This was soooo yummy and was a big hit and made plenty of extra sauce that I'm freezing for later.

1 16oz can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of minced onion
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ozs cream cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together first five ingredients. Bring to a boil, but stir frequently. Once sauce boils, remove from heat. Pour into a heatproof bowl and refrigerate for one hour. Can be refrigerated for up to three days ahead. Place your block of cream cheese on a serving plate and then top with the chilled sauce. Serve with assorted crackers.

Making an Octopus...

This really isn't a recipe but I thought that it was a cute idea and one that my girls keep asking me to make:) All you do is cut the bottom half of a hot dog into fourths... leaving the top intact. Place the cut hot dog into hot water and boil... as it boils the legs will separate and 'curl' up making your octopus:)

***Be prepared to make more of these than you would normally if you were just preparing regular hot dogs... if your kids are anything like mine, they will gobble these things up:)

Don't my girls look like they love them!?!

BBQ Spare Ribs

We were able to get a really good deal on Spare Ribs at Sam's and enjoyed a wonderful meal because of it:)

I found a recipe online that was absolutely delicious:) All you do is boil the meat in a BBQ sauce of your choice for 40-60 minutes... the longer you boil it the more tender the meat will be. You can add an onion quartered if you desire but it is not necessary (we have tried it both ways and they both turned out well:) After you boil the meat, place it on a grill for a few minutes to 'caramelize' the sauce... you will want to watch it fairly closely or you will have charred meat. This recipe is one that we will continue to make... it is that good:)

New York Style Cheesecake

This is a recipe that I've been making for a few years now that seems to be a good one. I myself am not a true cheesecake fan, but do kind of like this one. The only thing I changed from the original recipe was to add about a half teaspoon of cinnamon to the graham cracker crust (really, I just do a good puff of it from my cinnamon container).

1/4 cup butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 8oz bricks of cream cheese (Philly)
1/2 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in crumbs, cinnamon and sugar. Pat firmly in the bottom and about halfway up the side of your cheesecake pan. In large saucepan heat cream cheese until fluffy. A wire whisk works well for this to make sure there are no lumps of cheese left. Whisk in flour and eggs; mix well. Add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and lemon rind. Carefully pour into pan over crumbs. Bake 50-55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers. I have read that it is better to refrigerate it overnight before you plan to serve it; it makes for a better cheesecake. Also to help prevent cracking: Don't peek at it while it's baking...the rush of cooler air can cause cracking if you check on it before it's set.

Peanut Butter Pie

This is what we made for Aaron's birthday this year. It was a big hit with Aaron, who, if you don't know him, loves all things peanut butter. I got the recipe from a friend of mine from church, Amber Still.

1/2 package of oreos
3 Tablespoons of butter
8 ounce brick of cream cheese
1/2 of an 18 ounce jar of peanut butter
8 ounce tub of cool whip

Mix oreos, crushed, with about 3 tablespoons of butter. Press this into your pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Mix cream cheese with half of an 18oz jar of peanut butter. (That's a bit more than a cup) Fold in the tub of cool whip. Spread into pie crust and refrigerate. We kept ours in the freezer and just took it out 30 minutes before we wanted to eat it. Shaved chocolate on top is a nice touch.