Granny's Cut Out Cookies

We have had quite the eventful weekend, so we are just now celebrating Valentine's Day tonight. I asked The Dish Washer what he wanted to eat and he said Cajun Meatloaf. He is all about beef and pork, so along with the meatloaf I made a different type of baked beans that included sausage (I'll post that tomorrow) and then I made him his favorite cookies...better known as "steak cookies" for tonight.



Isn't that the cutest thing? The Dish Washer brought me this precious cookie cutter last month from a Cattleman's Convention in the state to our north.

I've mentioned these cookies before. They are his absolute favorite and were made every year by his Granny Miller. She had a talent for rolling cookie dough and could get her's paper thin so that they were very crunchy little things. I, on the other hand, am terrible at rolling cookie dough, but The Dish Washer said that was ok since I was "learning." Isn't he the best Valentine? I had made the dough a while back and put it in the freezer. It freezes very well! Then I just let it sit out on the counter a little while and it was ready to roll.

Granny's Cut Out Cookies

3-1/2 c. plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Sift flour with baking powder and salt.

1 c. oleo (Crisco)
1-1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream oleo; add sugar gradually and continue to beat. Add well beaten eggs and blend thoroughly. Add vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and creamed mixture; mix well and chill. Work with about 1/2 mixture at a time. Roll thin and cut. Bake at 400 for 6-10 minutes.

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For any of you readers who stayed at the hotel for our wedding, this is the recipe used for the cookies in your goody baskets. My mother in law made them for you...she's also good at getting the dough thin!

Stuffed Pasta Shells

What is the best thing about having a food blog, you ask? Well, the fact that my co-worker, Ms. Noodles, has shown up TWICE now with lunch for me to try "in case you want to put that recipe on your blog"!! Can't beat that! And you better believe that both times the food was delicious!! (And also that I didn't have to type out the recipes...cut and pasted from an email.) She also gave me the recipe for Cornbread Taco Bake.

"STUFFED PASTA SHELLS"

15 large pasta shells (cooked and drained)
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (12oz) mild picante sauce
1/2 cup water
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 can chopped green chilies, drained (4oz)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (4oz)
1 (3 oz.) bag or can french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook shells according to package directions.  Brown beef, drain.

In a small bowl, combine picante, water and tomato sauce. Stir ½ cup of the sauce into browned beef along with green chilies, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 can onions.  Mix well.

Pour 1/2 remaining sauce on bottom of a 8X12 baking dish. Stuff cooked shells with beef mixture. Arrange in dish, pour remaining sauce over top. Bake covered 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese and onions, bake uncovered 5 more minutes.

Cornbread Taco Bake

"CORN BREAD TACO BAKE"

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 can whole corn (12oz)
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 pks corn muffin mix (8 1/2oz)
1 (3 oz.) bag or can of french fried onions
1/3 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Brown meat, drain. Stir in next 5 ingrediants. Pour into 8/12" baking dish. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions and add 1/2 can French Fried Onions. Spoon over meat around outer edge of casserole. Bake uncovered @ 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Top corn bread with cheese and remaining onions, bake 2-3 minutes.

Dean's Cake House Caramel Cake

Today is my birthday, so I get the day off from cooking. (Although with the lack of blogging lately, you'd think I took the whole week off.) The Dish Washer is clanging around in the kitchen making Broccoli Casserole and grilling steak. I have been enjoying my most favorite caramel cake from Dean's Cake House in Andalusia. Soooo good! I can't find their website anymore (it says it has expired), but, if you live in Birmingham, you can pick one up at The Pig in Homewood! You can also call (334) 222-0459 to see where they may sell them close to you.

Salmon and Eggs

If this doesn't gross you out, then welcome to The Dish Washer's family. Every Thanksgiving, the men's breakfast includes salmon and eggs. He loves it! Because he loves it, I had 2 cans of salmon sitting in the pantry for him. This weekend, he busted them out. The funny thing is, when we were in D.C., our hotel had continental breakfast for us...not the blueberry muffin, dry cereal, bagel regular, but a little more variety with fresh ingredients. One of the things they offered was smoked salmon, so I decided to get The Dish Washer some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon thinking it would be the best Salmon and Eggs he has ever had. NO!! It wasn't the same as canned salmon.

To quote Shelby from my most favorite movie, Steel Magnolias: "Remember what Daddy always says - an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure!" I love that The Dish Washer will take me nice places, but still loves that canned salmon! That is who we are...I even ate canned chicken that same day!

Salmon and Eggs

Canned salmon, be sure to pick bones and skin
eggs
pepper

Mix together and scramble!

Liz's Black Bean Chowder

Happy Groundhog's Day! I don't have anything "Groundhoggy" to post today. But since we can expect to be cold for six more weeks, here's something to keep us warm...

I had printed this recipe off of The Pioneer Woman's blog a while back. She had a cooking challenge and asked folks to post recipes that she would make and then pick a winner. This chowder was one of the winners and sounded so good. It made a huge pot so I thought it would be great for the Super Bowl, but then with our unexpected addition to the family we packed up the chowder and headed south. Now I can't find it on her site to be able to link, so I will type the whole thing out. The full recipe (which I will give you) includes a yogurt-cilantro relish that I had to make to at least try, but didn't like at all.

Liz's Black Bean Chowder with Yogurt-Cilantro Relish

1 (32 oz.) pkg. dried black beans

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

olive oil

1 small ham hock

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

6 c. chicken stock

6 c. milk

2 Tbsp. butter

3 c. shredded mild cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. liquid smoke

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. mild curry powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Relish:

1 c. plain yogurt

2 c. chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 c. chopped cilantro (which is why I didn't care for this!)

1/2 tsp. salt

Place beans in a colander and rinse beans well. Place in an 8-quart Dutch oven (Buttercream was close to overflowing by the end of the recipe...she's not 8 quarts) and cover with water (about an inch over the top of the beans) and soak overnight. The next morning, prepare the relish by mixing all the ingredients together, then place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then drain the beans and rinse well.

Gently saute the onion and garlic in the stock pot with 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil, then add diced green chiles. Place beans back in the Dutch oven and add chicken stock, ham hock, liquid smoke, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After one hour is up, add the milk and 2 Tbsp. butter and simmer another 30 minutes. While the chowder is simmering, place the shredded cheese in a large bowl and add the flour, toss to coat the cheese with the flour. Bring the chowder to a boil and stir in the cheese. Boil while stirring constantly until the chowder thickens to your desired consistency. Ladle the chowder into bowls and top with one or two Tbsp. of yogurt-cilantro relish*. Serve with warm tortillas.

*After realizing I didn't care for the relish, I decided to serve with sour cream and fritos!

The Dish Washer has demanded that next time I make this to figure out how to add some meat to it...suggestions? He says pulled pork!

Peanut Butter Milkshake

Forget the Super Bowl!!! We've had a much more exciting day with a new baby in our family! Tossie had Baby Sister very early this morning. She is precious!! And her little baby neck (my weakness) is so cute! Today I was thinking a lot about how quickly they grow up. Big Sister was just born the other day (so it seems) and now she is three. And, oh man, is she excited about being a big sister. Lots of baby excitement in our families lately...my heart is full!

Peanut Butter Milkshake (I don't really have measurements)

large scoop of vanilla ice cream
large scoop frozen cool whip
1 spoonful of peanut butter (normally I am a Jif pb fan, but today, let's make it Reese's)
milk (depends on how thick or thin you like your shakes)

Blend all ingredients in blender until preferred consistency is reached.