Thumbprint cookies, Take 2

The thumbprint cookies went over great. Well, only maybe a dozen were consumed at my staff party but the rest were consumed by yours truly and the husband. Though Mr A could eat them too and I did offer him at most, one a day, he didn't really want them. He'd take a bite, then leave the rest. What??!! He actually asked for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies though.

Should I be proud or offended or flattered?

Anyways, I've been thinking about my mom. She always asks for some baked goods this time of year and I'm happy to oblige. When I was a kid, she made these butter cookies with bits of jam in the middle. She had this cookie press which extruded cookies in shapes of stars, flowers, trees, etc. In some ways, these cream cheese thumbprint cookies remind me of my mom's butter cookies. Her cookies had a hint of almond extract in them, so instead of the standard vanilla, I also chose to go with almond flavoring as well.

Now let's talk toppings... I was considering using the grapefruit marmalade that I got in my September FFP box, but was worried about the liquor component... I think my mom is actually allergic, whereas I simply lack the proper enzyme reaction for alcohol breakdown. My mom breaks out into a rash when she's consumed alcohol. This includes stuff like NyQuil. Luckily, we had some orange marmalade in the fridge, so I went with that.

I also bought these caramel Hershey's Kisses. I love the peanut butter blossom cookies but with Mr A's peanut allergies, I dare not make those, but I thought I could still use kisses with this thumbprint dough. And it worked very nicely! I suspected it would not be a good idea to put the kisses on for the entire back time. Fortunately, I just did one, which melted messily like an erupted volcano. I put the rest of the chocolates on after taking the cookies out of the oven but even then, that was too hot. Some of them melted down too much from the carry over heat. They just didn't look right, but all I did was swirled the chocolate a bit and back to pretty and can't wait to eat you status!

Recipe for thumbprint cookies

Egg Free Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies

  

There's no school today, due to "police activity" at the neighboring high school.  Pretty crazy.  But I'm taking the day as a mental health day for me and I'm going to spend time with my family.  I caught up with some laundry, met the hubby at work for lunch, and am just enjoying my kids.  And did I mention baking cookies?

I've been eying thumbprint cookies for a while now.  I have a holiday party tomorrow and I wanna bring cookies, so this is what I'm bringing!  These cookies just look so cute and well, they're just plain delicious too. I've Googled lots of recipes and I was pretty sure I wanted an egg free recipe for Mr A and you can't go wrong with cream cheese.  Saucy Spirit's version hit the mark.  No egg, no nuts, easy peasy.

Now a few other tips that made this possibly the fastest cookie making experience ever...  Use a scoop.  I love my little scoop.  I have no idea what the measurement is, but it's exactly a mini muffin and makes perfect little cookies.  Second, instead of using your thumb to make the indentation, use a wine cork.  I just read this recently on one of the food blogs I read.  If I ever figure out which one it is, I will reference back, I promise!  There are a bunch of these corks lying around my house because the husband just leaves them random places.  Finally!  I good use for them.  Just roll dough into little balls, then press the cork end in, make a corner turn, and remove.  Perfecto!

Now let's talk jam.  You can use any jam you'd like.  I happened to have a lovely jar of homemade strawberry jam that my mom made.  We're not big jam eaters here...  Well, let me rephrase, I think Mr A would eat a whole lot more jam if we let him.  But we don't have jam all that often.  This homemade jam has been in my fridge since summer, I think, unopened, so still totally good.  What better use than cookies?!

Last few comment about the cookies.  The dough can be a little crumbly, so when you make the indentation, will dough occasionally separates slightly.  Make sure to reconnect the dough so that the well for the jam doesn't flow out.  Baking on a silicon mat or on parchment paper is great for clean up, especially if some of the jam overflows.

Egg Free Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies

adapted from Saucy Spirits

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c cream cheese
1/4 t almond or vanilla extract (optional)
2 c flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream together butter, sugar and cream cheese. Add in almond or vanilla extract if desired.
3. Mix in flour, stir until completely blended together.
4. Use a little scoop, then roll into 1-1.5 inch balls on a silicone mat or parchment paper. Press your thumb (or use a wine cork) down in the middle of each ball to flatten it and leave a little pocket for the jelly.
5. Fill each cookie with the jelly of your choice and place in oven for 16-18 minutes, or until cookie is lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Corned Beef

Over the summer, I had lunch with my husband at a little pub / bar near his work.  They specialize in pastrami.  My husband had a reuben sandwich.  I had a cobb salad with pastrami and we shared "goofy fries".  Oh man!  I think about these fries all the time.  Fresh cut french fries, tossed with garlic, covered in a ooey-gooey fresh cheese sauce (not velveeta or the movie theater kind), and topped with chopped pastrami.  Ahhhh...  My mouth is watering as I remember the yummy goodness.

I think about going back all the time, but alas, have not made it.  But fear not!  I have made attempts at recreating the goofy fries masterpiece.

Part 1: Corned Beef (not quite pastrami, but will do)
This morning, I tossed a corned beef brisket into my crockpot on low with about 3 cups of water.  When I got home, I turned it off and scraped some of the fat off.  When I took it out about an hour later, it shredded as I was cutting it.  Yum.

Part 2: Cheese Sauce - inspired by Pinch of Yum
For the cheese sauce, over medium-low heat, heat 3 T milk and 1 oz cream cheese. Whisk until smooth (add another splash of milk if needed) and add 1/8 t garlic powder, and 1/8 t salt until smooth. When smooth, add 1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese. Whisk until smooth, adding more milk to thin out the sauce to your desired consistency.

Part 3: Fries - I like to use Trader Joe's Handsome Cut French Fries.  12-14 minutes in the toaster oven at 425 and you're good to go!

Assembly:

1. Toss cooked fries with some salt and garlic powder if desired.
2. Top with cheese sauce.
3. Add chopped corned beef on top.

Enjoy!

Sorry!  No pics at the moment because I could not be bothered to take pictures because these wanna be goofy fries were that good, no great, no fantastic.  :)  Will update later (hopefully).

November Foodie Penpal!

This month's Foodie Penpal comes from Kim of Peanut Butter and Push Ups.  She is a registered dietician and hails from fabulous New York.  I am always in awe of runners, mostly because I lack the stamina to do so.  Kim is no exception - she has a little widget on her blog that logs miles run.  Can you believe she's logged 500 miles in the year of 2012?!  That's amazing!  She recently participated in NY Runners in Support of Staten Island, where she and other runners ran through Staten Island delivering supplies and helping those in need from the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Now that we've established how awesome Kim is.  Let's talk about the fantastic package she sent me.

The first thing I went for... Chocolate covered pretzel crisps with peppermint.  Uh-mazing!  We snuck these in with us when we went to see the latest James Bond film, Skyfall.  Talk about better than any of the snacks at the theater!  Second item, the terra chips.  I'm pretty sure I've had these before, but I'm not sure I ate a whole bag before.  Apparently, there is a first for everything.

Next, I read Kim's note.  How hilarious is it that she has a bacon card for me?!  I am just loving Foodie Penpals.  I love that my package came from New York and I sent a package off to Puerto Rico.  Puerto Rico, can you believe it?!

Kim says she's been making flatbread pizza with dried figs, goat cheese, and carmelized onions.  That sounds like a fabulous combination.  She had me at flatbread pizza.  And rounding out the package were a pack of dried tropical fruits, an apple crisp mix, and a tasty bar of chocolate (which I believe went in my husband's tummy because I haven't seen it lately).

I love Foodie Penpals!  It's like getting tasty birthday presents every month.  It's fun shopping for stuff to send and it's so much fun getting a box too.  Foodie Penpals unites foodies from all over the US, plus there's a Canada program too.  Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean is genius.

Note: Foodie Penpals is on hold for the month of December.  Lindsay is changing it up for December as a way to help those effected by Hurricane Sandy.  Check out the details at Foodie Penpals for Charity.

Chile Verde Chicken Enchiladas

My MIL is a busy bee. She always stocks our fridge with meats and bless her heart, she makes beef enchiladas (one of my husband's favorite meals) when she visits. This time, in addition to the beef enchiladas, she rolled up some chicken enchiladas and stuck them in our freezer. She left us a can of green chile enchilada sauce in the cupboard to pour on top when we were ready to bake them. My only contribution was a quick trip to Trader Joe's for some Jack cheese. Hubby shredded the cheese, popped it in the oven and voila! Dinner was ready in a half hour. I just might like these chicken ones better than the beef ones in red sauce.

Mr A, when served, immediately said, "I don't like that."  We insisted that he try a little and he did, and he ended up eating 1.5 enchiladas.  We were proud.  I think reading Green Eggs and Ham helps - gotta try something before you say you don't like it!

Chile Verde Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
2 c chicken, cooked & shredded
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
12 corn tortillas
1/4 t chili powder
1 28 oz can green chile enchilada sauce
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded
2 c Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 c sour cream, optional

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and sauté onions until translucent and slightly browned. Remove from heat.
2. Soften tortillas either by frying lightly in oil or heating in a cast iron skillet.
3. Preheat oven to 375.
4. Place a spoonful of chicken, onions, and cheddar cheese in the center of a tortilla.  Sprinkle a little chili powder, then roll the tortilla, placing the seam side down in a baking pan. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.*
5. Pour green chile enchilada sauce on top of enchiladas and top with Jack cheese.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
7. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

* Rolled enchiladas can be frozen in a baking pan to eat later. Cooking time will be longer if frozen. Note: We moved the pan of enchiladas from the freezer to the fridge the night before so they had time to defrost in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Tart Cherry Pie

My mom hosted Thanksgiving part 2 over the weekend. It was suppose to be a "light dinner" and everyone was suppose to bring something. She asked me to bring ham and mashed potatoes.

But I was thinking something sweet too... I've been eying the 2 cans of tart cherries left in my cupboard from my in-laws' visit last week. My MIL made this fantastic cherry pie with those cherries and I was regretting not eating more last week. Lo and behold! The recipe was on the back of the label. Even better, there was a recipe for homemade pie crust and then one for the cherry filling. I wasn't feeling like I wanted to make pie crust so I picked up some ready made pie crusts from Trader Joe's.

This cherry pie is way too easy. Why I don't make pies more often, I don't know. Using ready made pie crusts makes it so incredibly simple. Now I didn't look at the ingredient label of the pie crust, though if I did, I'd probably see additives and other things I don't like, but let's not focus on that.

Interesting, I googled the recipe for this pie off of the Oregon Cherries site, and it calls for twice as much sugar on the website as on the label. On the back of the label, it says 1/2-3/4 cup of sugar, but the website says 1 1/2 cups of sugar. I used 1/2 cup and it was plenty for me.

Tart Cherry Pie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cans Oregon Red Tart Pie Cherries, drained, reserve juice from one can
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tablespoon butter
Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Drain the cherries and reserve the juice from only one can. In a saucepan, stir the cherry juice into the combined mixture of the cornstarch and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Gently stir in cherries and almond extract. Remove from heat.
3. Pour filling into pastry lined pie pan. Dot with butter.
4. Place the second pie crust on top. Adjust crust, seal and vent. Alternatively, create lattice for top.
5. Bake 45 minutes or until crust browns and filling begins to bubble. If necessary, cover edges with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning.
6. Cool pie several hours to allow filling to thicken before slicing.

Makes 8 servings.

Turkey Soup

Thanksgiving is over. What do you do with leftovers? Aside from just eating more turkey and stuffing (which I totally did), turkey sandwiches, frittatas, fried rice, and soup are my favorite.

Remember my Cheater's Chicken Soup? Here's a turkey version.  Same basic idea.  Saute your mirepoix.  Add in turkey broth from your turkey.  If you made gravy out of the turkey juices, you could add that too.  A can of chicken or vegetable broth would work too.  Add in some of your leftover turkey and simmer.  I wanted some green in my soup.  I had some of my go to frozen broccoli, so I added that.  I used my leftover rice yesterday for fried rice, so I cooked up some pasta to go with this soup.

A complete and healthy meal in less than 20 minutes!

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
3 ribs celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 c broccoli florets, chopped
1 c turkey (cooked), diced
1/4 t garlic, crushed
2 c turkey broth
2 c water
1/4 t poultry seasoning
1/4 t sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a large soup pot. Add olive oil and coat bottom of the pan. Add celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add turkey, broth, water, poultry seasoning, and salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for 7-8 min, add broccoli, and simmer additional 5-7 min until veggies are tender.
4. Adjust seasonings if desired.
5. Serve with rice or pasta.

Enjoy!