Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME – Page 445 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies–Save Room for Dessert

These are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made! And trust me, I’ve made a few.

I hope you enjoy them too!

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

recipe from here

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, beaten
4 1/3 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Plain or colored sugar, for decorating

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together sugars and shortening using an electric mixer. Mix on slow speed 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes.
Slowly add vanilla and beaten egg while mixing.
In a separate bowl, combine cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, mixing on slow speed until just blended. Do not over mix.Scoop with an ice cream scoop and roll in sugar. Place on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with palm of hand.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes.

Cookies are done when small cracks appear and are pale golden. Ideally, do not let edges brown. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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TAILGATING TIME 2.0

IT’S OFFICIAL – FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!

We have decided to make a change this year in the way Tailgating Time will work. Instead of a new linky for each week we will be using the same linky to keep all the great recipes in one place. This will provide easy access to the recipes and create one big awesome recipe index collection. There is no limit to how many you add – of course we hope you will add a new recipe each and every week! Tailgating Time will generally be posted each week on Sundays at noon.

It doesn’t matter if you are a football fan or not, great party food is always a good thing. Bring over your grilled goods, chips and dips, appetizers, chili and chowders, cocktails, or any recipes that would be great for the football party buffet!

If any of you would like to host along with us you can click –> get the InLinkz code to add the linky to your blog too. You can post it once in awhile or every week during football season, that’s up to you. The only thing we ask is that you leave a comment here to let us know you are co-hosting, and that you visit and comment on as many of the participants as you can.

We can’t wait to see what you will bring to the party. Let the games begin. Whoo-hoo!

Hasselbeck Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes are a Swedish version of baked potato. The outside crisps up nicely and the soft center it’s a pleasure to eat. It’s makes a nice presentation and is easy to prepare. I’ve made these and brought them in a crock pot to a party, and it works nice keeping them warm. Perfect for the holidays. They are always a big hit, I get requested to make these often.

Slice the washed small red potatoes 1/4 inch slices but not all the way through. You can use chopsticks or a wooden spoon if you have trouble stopping before you cut all the way through. Then slice up some cloves of garlic and slide a slice in between the slits in the potato. Place the potatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper,or add fresh chopped herbs, or dried. Bake in 400° oven for an hour until the outside is crisp and the potatoes are cooked through. They end up a little crisp on the outside and nice and soft inside.

I sprinkled some Parmesan on them halfway through the cooking time.

I was so excited to eat these the photo blurred….no, umm… they were hot out of the oven and steamed up the lens….that’s it.

Serve with your favorite herbed sour cream, sprinkled a little extra Parmesan and herbs on top, and there you have it.

They go nicely with roasts and baked fish, heck they are garlic potatoes, they taste good with anything or I could make a meal of them by themselves.

KEY LIME CHEESECAKE with BLUEBERRY CARAMEL SAUCE

When I was a little girl my great aunt, Looney Louise, (okay we didn’t call her looney to her face, but it is what made her such fun) made a blueberry pudding cake with a tart lemon sauce that was out of this world! When Ron asked me to review NuNatural’s products Aunt Louise’s recipe was the furthest thing from my mind. After reviewing all the wonderful products that NuNaturals was gracious enough to send me and perusing the hundreds of recipes they also sent me, I settled on the blueberry cheesecake recipe. The more I thought of blueberries, the more I thought of Louise and so I made the requisite recipe changes to make it my own and bring me close to the reverse of Looney Louise’s recipe.

Recipe aside, I have to say that every NuNatural’s product I tried is excellent. I am a total convert! I was forced years ago to give up any chemically altered sugars so only had full bodied sugar to live on. NuNatural’s products are not chemically altered, but based on Stevia, a natural plant!

KEY LIME PIE with CARAMEL BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons butter
15 drops NuNatural’s liquid stevia extract

Filling:
16 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup key lime juice
1 egg
1 teaspoon NuNatural’s white stevia powder

Crush about 12 graham crackers to make 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, stevia extract and 6 tablespoons of melted butter in a medium mixing bowl.
Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom and sides, pressing it to make it firm.
Bake at 350° until golden brown (about 10 minutes).
Allow to cool completely before using.
Using a mixer, mix the ingredients in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Don’t overdo it.
Pour the mixture into the sugar-free graham cracker crust, spreading evenly and bake at 350° until lightly browned (about 30 minutes).

Sauce:

2 cups fresh blueberries
5 tablespoons water, divided
Pinch of coarse kosher salt
4 teaspoons NuNatural’s white stevia powder
7 drops NuNatural’s liquid Vanilla stevia
2 tablespoons Hershey’s caramel sauce
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine berries, 1 tablespoon water, and coarse salt in medium saucepan.
Stir and mash over medium-low heat until reduced to sauce consistency, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
Combine sugar, 4 tablespoons water, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in large saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is golden amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, 9 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in blueberry sauce; let stand 5 minutes.
Cool sauce to room temperature.
Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
I was not paid for this review, but did receive free products to try. All opinions are my own. Their products are all natural, easy to convert and taste great!

Caramelized (or at least it should have been) Chipotle Chicken – Fire Day Friday

Sometimes, when you skip a step in a recipe, the outcome can still be really good, but the final product just isn’t quite what you had envisioned. Take this lovely piece of chicken. Had I not been in a hurry and allowed my glaze to cook and thicken, I truly would have had a piece of chicken that was wonderfully caramelized. But, life gets in the way sometimes and well, like I said, the chicken was still pretty dang fantastic… it’s just that…. well.. it could have been that much better!

So the lesson here is…. don’t skip any of these steps. Take the extra few minutes and I promise, you will not be sorry. Your chicken will be a bit spicy, a bit sticky, and a ton of oh so good!!

Caramelized Chipotle Chicken
Created by Jenn’s Food Journey

– Serves 2 –

Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoon chipotle puree (to make puree, dump entire contents of chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in a can into your food processor and puree)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients except the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens up just a little bit. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Preheat grill to 375 degrees F and oil grill grates. Brush a little of the glaze on both sides of the chicken and place directly over the fire and cover. Allow to grill for 6 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush with more glaze. Grill another 6 minute, flip and brush on more glaze. Let the chicken finish cooking (internal temp of 165 degrees F.) and then remove from grill. Brush on more glaze if you prefer and allow to rest for 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

TOMATO BISQUE with BAKED CHEESE CROUTONS

Tomato Bisque
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped small
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh Roma tomatoes, peeled
4 cups chicken broth
3 or 4 sprigs fresh parsley
5-10 fresh basil leaves
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Sea salt and white pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese for servin

Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat.
Add chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic.
Cook stirring often until soft, about 8-10 minutes.
Add chicken broth and tomatoes, stirring well.
Tie herbs together in cheesecloth and drop into the soup. This makes it easy to remove later.
Season with sea salt and white pepper to taste.
Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Remove herbs and discard.
Add whipping cream and blend until smooth.
Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated cheese and fresh basil.

CROUTONS
6 slices thick sourdough bread
butter, melted, enough to coat bread
½ cup Fontina Cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place bread slices on oven rack and bake until dry and golden.
Melt butter in flat bowl.
Combine cheeses in flat bowl.
Dip first in butter and the cheese mixture.
Bake on cookie sheet 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Float croutons on top of soup bowls just before serving.

Pairs really well with Tuna Melts.

Ice Cream Cake-Save Room for Dessert

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut flavored ice cream with a white cake mix

Today I’ve got an ice cream cake for you. But, not like you might think.

This cake uses a cake mix which usually isn’t my first choice but is worth the exception in this case.

This cake is simple and extremely moist.

Not to mention there are so many flavor combinations.

Red Velvet Ice Cream with Red Velvet Cake Mix

Ice Cream Cake

Recipe from Omnomicon

1 box of cake mix (any flavor)

1 pint of ice cream–softened (any flavor)

3 eggs

1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease pan 9 x 13 or bunt pan

Beat all ingredients for 4 minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Serve with your favorite frosting or glaze.

I used a powdered sugar/milk glaze.

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FINALLY HOME MENU

Since there are no groceries in the house, we’re not sure when the moving company will deliver and we’re not sure when utilities will be turned on, I’m making this a super simple menu week.

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie

	DATE	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER
Monday	11/14	CEREAL	SANDWICHES	SUBWAY SANDWICHES
Tuesday	11/15	TOAST	LEFTOVERS	MAC & CHEESE
Wednesday	11/16	YOGURT	SOUP	TUNA MELTS & TOMATO SOUP
Thursday	11/17	FRUIT	CHEESE & FRUIT	FRIED EGG SANDWICHES
Friday	11/18	OATMEAL	SANDWICHES	PIZZA
Saturday	11/19	BACON & EGGS	LEFTOVERS	CHILI & CORNBREAD
Sunday	11/20	PANCAKES & BACON	C.OR.N.	BLTs & CORN CHOWDER

ALMOST HOME

Being a So Cal girl at heart, surfing was always a saltwater sport and usually done in warm weather. The thing that surprised me the most when we came east was that the great lakes have waves too. The lakes are soooooooo large that they look like an ocean at first glance. I caught this surfer in a rainstorm on Lake Michigan today and he was looked so at peace even though I never actually saw him catch a wave!

On another note, the plant below was sent to me by my SIL when we first moved into our investment house 5 years ago. It grew huge in my kitchen and had to be cut back monthly. When we went west to help my in-laws, the poor plant froze the first night out. I kept it and babied it while at my in-laws and it began to come back. That was 2 years ago. I keep babying it and it keeps hanging in there. I can’t wait to put it back on my kitchen counter and see where it grows. I call it my Bobbie plant!

I should be home tomorrow and then begins the arduous task of reversing the winterizing from 2 years ago and getting the utilities on. I’ll fill you in on the rest of the Chronicles of a Major Move at that time.

BUFFALO CHICKEN STUFFED SHELLS

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells Adapted from Sugar Crafter
1 package 12 oz. jumbo shells
13 oz. cooked and shredded chicken breast
3/4 cup hot sauce, I used Franks
3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded, part skim
3 oz. parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, part skim
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, light
1/2 cup ranch dressing, light

Directions: Prepare pasta shells as directed on package. Mix all the ingredients except for the shells in a large bowl. Stuff each shell with as much filling as it will hold. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place in a dish sprayed with cooking spray. I put these in a 9 x 13 and an 8 x 8 casserole. Top with green onions if desired.

Modifications:
-I used Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce
-I added extra chicken and cheese on top of the shells.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Put the chicken in water to cook. Also, cook the shells according to the package directions.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the wing sauce, cream cheese, ricotta, and cheeses.
Take the chicken out and shred it. Add it to the wing sauce mixture.

Drain the shells and place them in a greased baking dish.
Spoon the mixture into the shells.
Into the oven for about 10-15 minutes (that’s my pizza stone underneath the dish)

I decided to add a bit more chicken and cheese to the top of the shells.