Key Lime Cookies

Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies from Betty Crocker


Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 1/3 cups Original Bisquik

6 oz white chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon lime zest (but I would up this to 1 1/2 or even 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice



Preheat to 350ºF. Beat butter, sugars, vanilla and egg with electric mixer until well mixed. Stir in Bisquick mix. Stir in lime juice, white chocolate chunks and lime peel.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool 1 minute; slide parchment from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Farfalle with Shrimp in a lemon, butter, white wine sauce

1 lb. farfalle, cook according to pkg. directions
1 pound of raw deveined, cleaned shrimp...tails can be on or off
1 pint of sweet yellow cherry tomatoes
4 green onions, chopped
1 stick of butter
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup olive oil, extra light (allows for a higher cooking temp)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 turns of the pan of your favorite white wine. If you wouldn't drink it...then don't cook with it :)

Cook pasta and drain. In a deep skillet melt butter over medium heat. I add the oil as the butter melts to prevent it burning. Add in minced garlic and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Next turn up your heat to medium high and add the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper then add wine. cook for 10 minutes so the shrimp is cooked through and sauce reduce. Stir in lemon juice and add pasta to the shrimp and sauce. Toss well and serve.

Spinach and artichoke dip

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1 cup refrigerated alfredo sauce

8 ounces of softened cream cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Spoon into 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate. Bake for 20 min. or until lightly browned. Serve with crackers, pita chips, or tortilla chips. You can also sprinkle with an additional 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan before baking.

Egg rolls

1 pkg. of egg roll wrappers
1 bag of shredded slaw
1 1/2 lbs. chicken, can use left overs from a roasted chicken or grilled.
3 Tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. mustard seed
black pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
vegetable oil


Mix togther slaw, chicken, honey, soy sauce, mustard seed and pepper. Whisk egg and set aside. In a deep skillet, heat 1 1/2 -2 inches of oil over medium high heat. Place approx. 1/2 a cup of mixture onto the egg roll wrapper. Wrap like a burrito, folding 2 ends toward each other and then roll. Before sealing, brush the edge with egg wash and seal. The size of my egg rolls yields a dozen. Cook 4 at a time in the oil, about 30 seconds each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towls and then serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Sweet and savory beef ribs

1 rack of beef ribs
4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. season salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup of your favorite bbq sauce.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray heavy duty foil (enough to completely wrap ribs) with cooking spray. Place ribs on the foil and coat both sides with vinegar and all spices, starting with the vinegar. Rub into the ribs and cover tightly. Place wrapped ribs on to a rimmed baking sheet. Place ribs into the oven and cook for 30 min. Then reduce heat to 290 and continue cooking for 3 1/2 hours. Remove ribs from oven, open foil pouch and brush bbq sauce on both sides of the ribs. Close foil and return to oven for an additional 30 minutes.

Pork steak with apples and onions

2 pork steaks, sliced shoulder about 3/4 in. thick
2 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp of cayenne, less depending on your heat level
1 granny smith sliced into rounds
1 vadalia onion sliced into rounds
2 cups of apple juice

Season pork with garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne. Sear in a cast iron skillet for 3-4 min each side over medium high heat. Next add apples, onion and juice. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Great with mashed potatoes!

Pepperjack Corn Dip

2 cans of corn, drained
1 lb. of pepperjack cheese, shredded
3-4 green onions finely sliced
1 1/2 cup light mayo
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium sixe mixing bowl. Serve with Tostito's Hint of Lime tortilla chips. This makes quite a large portion so share with friends or when you have a crowd over.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt and serve immediately. I like to top mine with shaved parmesan as well.

Turkey Brine

For the ultimate, juicy turkey try using a brine this year. Soak your bird 24 hours prior to roasting in a large stock pot. Keep in the frige until you are ready to place your bird in the oven. I will post another recipe with the aromatics and seasoning that I use.

 7 quarts (28 cups) water

 1 1/2 cups coarse salt

 6 bay leaves

 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds

 1 tablespoon dried juniper berries

 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

 6 sprigs of rosemary

 1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds

1 bottle of Riesling

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bunch fresh thyme

1 whole turkey (18 to 20 pounds) Be sure that your turkey is completely thawed before soaking in the brine.

Jumbo Banana Cranberry Muffins

 2 ¼ cups flour

 1 tablespoon baking powder

 ½ teaspoon baking soda

 ½ teaspoon salt

 1 cup of craisins

 2 ¼ cups ripe mashed bananas

 ½ cup sugar

 ½ cup sour cream (not low fat)

 ¼ cup vegetable oil

 3 large egg yolks

 1 teaspoon vanilla


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

2. In another bowl, mix the mashed banana, sugar, sour cream, vegetable oil,

egg yolks and vanilla together.

3. Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until the ingredients are mixed well.

4. Fold in the craisins

Spray a jumbo muffin tin with Pam. Fill the well greased tins nearly full. The batter is enough for six jumbo muffins.
Bake for 8 minutes at 400degrees. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 14 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let muffins sit for 5 minutes and remove from pan to rack to cool.

Some tips….

 Don’t be afraid to fill the tins almost to the top. They need to be almost full so they get a nice dome on top.

 The time to cook will depend on your oven. I have never seen two ovens that cook alike!

 When the muffins cool, I wrap them in saran wrap and put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer. They freeze well, and only take a few seconds to defrost in the microwave.

 Hope you like them, my husband is not a big muffin fan and he loves them.

(recipe from my mom, Barbara)