Molasses Spice Cookies (a.k.a. Chewy Ginger Snaps)

Since it is almost Christmas I thought I would share a recipe that has become one of our family Christmas traditions. Each Christmas Eve we make a batch of these cookies to give to Santa, we also eat a few! They are one of our family's favorites.

1/3 cup (about 2½ ounces) granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for dipping
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed (2¾ ounces) dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup light or dark molasses

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. spread 1/2 cup of sugar in a shallow dish/bowl for coating and set aside.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, pepper, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

3. Beat the butter, brown sugar and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar together in a a large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the molasses until incorporated about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as necessary.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flower mixture until combined, about 30 seconds (the dough will be soft). Give the dough a final stir with the rubber spatula to make sure its combined.

5. Using wet hands roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in the sugar to coat and place on the parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about two inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are still soft and underdone, 10 to 12 minutes, rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking.

6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve them warm or transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Spicy Stuffed Shells

There is a restaurant here in Denver called Buca Di Beppo. One of their best dishes is Spicy Stuffed Shells. I have been wanting to try to find a recipe that approximated it. I got a card in the mail this week with a stuffed shells recipe. I decided to try it. Upon closer inspection I knew the recipe wouldn't do. It had no garlic, only a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic and carrots in it. So I decided to just try to recreate it on my own. It worked and was a hit! The kids loved it in fact they were asking for the leftovers for breakfast. This recipe makes a lot so be prepared to freeze some of it for a future meal.

1 lb Italian sausage (turkey or pork)

1 box of large pasta shells

1 32 oz carton of low fat Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

12 oz frozen spinach with the water squeezed out

4 cloves garlic minced

2 cups Italian blend shredded cheese

1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper (chili pequin)

2 quarts of your favorite pasta sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Add the shells and cook for 15 minutes. The shells will not be done completely. Drain the shells and run cold water over them.

2. Put a large frying pan over medium heat, add the sausage and crushed red peppers (depending how spicy you want it you can use as little or as much red pepper as you desire) and cook sausage thoroughly, breaking into very small pieces.

3. In a large bowl combine the Ricotta cheese the shredded Italian cheese blend, garlic, basil and spinach then mix well.

4. Place 1/2 cup cup of pasta sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish. With a spoon coat the bottom of the pan with the pasta sauce.

5. Take each pasta shell individually and stuff with the cheese mixture, it will take approximately 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture for each shell. Lay the shells into the pan coated with sauce, open side up. Continue until the baking dish if full. Pour what remains of the first quart of pasta sauce over the top of the shells. You will have enough ingredients to fill another pan so repeat the above steps.

6. Cover each baking dish in foil and place into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Vegitarian Chili

1	tablespoon vegetable oil
1	large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1	medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
4	cloves garlic, finely chopped
2	fresh poblano or serrano chiles, seeded, finely chopped
2	cans black beans, drained, rinsed
2	cans Muir Glen fire roasted or plain diced tomatoes, undrained
2	cups water
1	tablespoon chili powder, and 1 tablespoon chili carribe (if you cannot find use 2 tablespoons red chili)
2	teaspoon ground cumin
1	salt
1	cup canned or frozen sweet corn 1 ounce Tabasco sauce
	Sour cream or plain yogurt, if desired
	Shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired
	Chopped fresh cilantro, if desire

1.	In 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and chilies (including canned); cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
2.	Stir in black beans, tomatoes, water, chili powder, chili carribe, cumin and salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 5 minutes longer.  Add the Tabasco sauce.  The Tabasco sauce will add a lot of spice to this dish, you may want to add a little at a time until reaching your desired taste.
3.	Top each serving with remaining ingredients if desired.

Wienerschnitzel With Warm Potato Salad

This is the most authentic recipe we have used for Wienerschnitzel, it is a combination of a couple of other recipes and things we have change for our liking. Use caution when cooking with the butter, too high of heat will scorch the butter. If you do scorch the butter just dump it out and add some more.

4 - 6 oz pieces of pork cutlets (preferable machine tenderized)

1 cup flour

2 cup bread crumbs (Panko type work best)

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Salt

Pepper

1 - 2 cups butter

lemons for garnish

For potato salad:

1.5 pounds fingerling potatoes

1 medium onion diced fine

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Wash the potatoes, put in salted water with a sprig of fresh rosemary, and 4-5 cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil and cook until for tender. Let them cool and then slice. Discard the garlic and rosemary. You can let them cook while you are preparing the cutlets.

Pound the cutlet pieces until very thin. (use plastic wrap on top and bottom)

Mix eggs and milk together

Season the cutlets with salt and pepper. Dip cutlet in flour, then dip into the egg/milk mixture, then in bread crumbs.

Heat butter (enough to cook a cutlet in) in a saute pan over medium to medium high heat and cook the breaded cutlets one at a time. Once each side is nicely browned, turn them over to finish cooking. Once the cutlet is finished cooking set aside on paper towel and cook each cutlet the same. To serve place the cutlet on a plate and garnish with lemons.

To make the potato salad:

Take the sliced potatoes, put them in a large pan with the chicken stock, add some salt and pepper. Over low heat, add the olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and onion. Allow to heat slightly. Serve on plate with cutlet.

Better than A-1 Steak Marinade

We used to use this steak marinade recipe all the time. I didn't remember where we got it from. So today I was scouring the internet and found it again on some random recipe site. It is really good. Hope you like!

2 pounds steak of your choice

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 tbsp. minced onions, any type

1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Whisk together ingredients in medium bowl. Place marinade and steak in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate 60 to 90 minutes, flipping bag halfway through to ensure that steaks marinate evenly. Drain off excess marinade prior to cooking. Can be used for grilling, stir frying, or sauteeing recipes.