Peanut butter cookies

1/2 cup shortening (or butter flavored shortening)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls (using a cookie scoop works great) 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to racks to cool completely.

Pizza Puffs

PEPPERONI PIZZA PUFFS
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP pizza seasoning
3/4 cup milk
1 egg- slightly beaten
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 package mini pepperoni (or 1 cup cut up)
1/2 cup pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a mini muffin pan. Whisk flour, baking powder and pizza seasoning in bowl. Whisk in milk and egg. Stir in cheeses and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir and divide in mini muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve with warmed pizza sauce.

Bacon wrapped Pork Tenderloin

BACON-WRAPPED PORK TENDERLOIN
1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin
1 tsp steak seasoning (I used Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning)
3 bacon slices, cut in half crosswise

Preheat oven to 425. Remove silver skin from pork tenderloin, leaving a thing layer of fat covering the pork. Sprinkle seasoning over pork (you can do this in the morning or a few hours before baking). Wrap pork with bacon slices, and secure with wooden picks (I used toothpicks I had soaked in water so they wouldn't burn). Place pork on a lightly greased wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155. Broil 5 inches from heat 3-5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Remove from oven; cover pork with foil, and let stand 10 minutes or until thermometer registers 160.

Mac N' Cheese

My FAVORITE Mac N' Cheese
Recipe by: Emily

2 cups Elbow Macaroni
1 medium Onion, sliced thin and chopped
1 TBS Garlic Salt
1 can Chedder cheese soup
1 1/2 cans milk
1 cup Shredded Italian Cheese
1 cup Shredded Mild Chedder Cheese
3 Tbsp Butter
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 cups Bread Crumbs, I like to use coarse brioche crumbs best

1. Cook macaroni according to directions on the package to al dente. Drain pasta and set aside in a large bowl.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan, melt together add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until onions begin to brown. Lower heat to medium low and continue to cook onion stirring occasionally until softened about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Use the same skillet that you cooked the onion in to make the sauce, it will deglaze the pan. Higher heat to medium, add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and melt. Add 1 1/2 cans milk and cheddar soup to the mixture and whisk while continuing to cook. Once the milk mixture begins to thicken and bubble add the shredded cheeses and continue to whisk until the cheese has melted, about 3 minutes. Taste cheese sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni mixture and mix well. Pour macaroni mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish and top with 2 cups of brioche bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bread crumbs are browned and the macaroni is bubbly. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving, enjoy!

Horchata

1 3/4 C long grain white rice
2 cinnamon sticks
7 C water
3/4 C milk
1/2 C sugar
1 TBLS vanilla

Place rice, cinnamon sticks and about 2 cups of water in blender.
Blend until rice and cinnamon sticks are roughly ground. Add remaining water and blend some more.
Pour into a pitcher and let it soak in the refrigerator overnight.
Strain out rice and cinnamon sticks (you can save this for rice pudding).
Add milk, sugar and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
Serve over ice.
Enjoy!

Pepperoncini Pasta with Chicken

1 box bowtie pasta or other shape
boneless chicken breasts or tenders – 1 lb. (I used precooked Fajita Chicken)
seasoned salt, homemade or store-bought (didnt use)
olive oil for sautéing
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 green pepper, chopped (didnt use cause I didnt have any)
1 can regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers
1 cup chicken broth (I used 2 bullion of chicken and tomato flav with 1 1/2 cups water)----Added so much flavor!
salt and pepper to taste (didnt use any)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Sprinkle the chicken with seasoned salt and grill outdoors. (Or just heat up cooked chicken)

In a skillet, heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the green pepper (I Omitted) and cook until tender-crisp. Stir in the other ingredients, except the cheese. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer for a few minutes while the pasta and chicken finish cooking. Stir the sauce together with the finished pasta. Serve with the grilled chicken and top with cheese.

Makes about 8-10 servings.

Crumb Cake

Jersey Diner Coffee Cake

1 pkg Duncan Hines Butter Cake mix (or any other brand)
4 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Blend together until lumps disappear - do not over mix.
Bake in a greased 11x15 jellyroll pan for 20-25 minutes.

Crumb Topping:

4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (I use Floridian Gourmet [see photograph] - this guy knows his stuff! Check the website and see if you can still get your hands on some)
2 sticks of margarine
1 stick of butter

Melt butters and let cool slightly. Add vanilla.
Mix flour, cinnamon, sugars then add the liquid mixture.
Crumble with hands and place on warm cake. Bake again for 20 min at 350 degrees F.
Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Checker Board Cake

4 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
8 large egg whites
3 cups sugar
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract

White Frosting

1 cup vegetable shortening (not butter flavored)
4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Place the checkerboard cake insert into one of the pans and set aside.

For the Cake:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter, and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and will aerated.
Separate the batter evenly into three separate bowls. To add paste food coloring, take a small amount (smaller than a pea, it doesn't take much!) and whisk it into the white batter. Repeat for the other two batches. I used pink, purple, and green
Starting with the pan that has the checkerboard insert, fill the center hole halfway with pink batter. Fill the center ring halfway with green and the outer ring halfway with purple. Carefully loosen the insert's "legs" from the side of the pan and lift the insert straight up into the air. Rinse and dry the insert and place it into the next pan.
In keeping with your pattern flow (pink, green, purple, etc) fill the center hole halfway with green, the second ring with purple, and the outer ring with pink. For the last pan, continuing the pattern, purple in the center, then pink, then green.Bake for 25-35 minutes, checking after 25, or until the cakes are springy to the touch- a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

To Make the Frosting:

Beat shortening and extracts until creamy, about 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Slowly add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, then 2 tablespoons of milk, 2 more cups of powdered sugar, then the remaining milk and any additional powdered sugar that may be needed.

Put 1/3 of the frosting into a separate bowl and tint it with a small amount of yellow paste food coloring. Frost in between the layers yellow and the sides and top of cake white. Decorate with green tinted coconut and jelly beans on top.

INGREDIENTS FOR ONE BATCH OF CAKE
(if you would like to make it in two separate batches)

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Salsa

1 14½ oz. can Ro-Tel
1 14½ oz. can whole peeled tomatoes (do NOT drain)
1½ tbsp. finely diced raw jalapeno (include seeds only if you want your salsa to be hot!)
¼ cup diced onion
¾ tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. sugar


(Can also add cilantro, lime, and minced garlic)

Place jalapeños and onions in a food processor or Magic Bullet and run for approx. 5-10 seconds.

Add Ro-Tel, tomatoes, sugar, and cumin.

Process all ingredients until thin, but not completely pureed. (Just think of the consistency of Chili's Salsa and aim for that.)

Place in a covered container and chill for two hours.

Serve with thin, warm tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Beef Empanadas

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1/2 cup shredded white Cheddar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sazon seasoning
12 store-bought (6-inch) empanada wrappers (or pastry dough)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions
In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Stir in the beef, cumin, curry, chili powder, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, and salt and pepper, to taste. Saute, stirring often, until the beef has browned, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and the Cheddar and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter with the sazon powder small pan over low heat. Stir well to combine and reserve. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg, then fold the dough over to form a half moon, pressing out the air with your fingertips. Use the tines of a fork to pinch and seal the edges, creating a border about 1-inch wide. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Transfer the patties to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of patties with the reserved sazon butter. Bake according to dough package instructions, or until puffed and lightly browned, about 20 minutes

Green Chili Salsa

8 or more tomatillos
3-6 cloves of garlic - peeled
2 jalepenos (whole)
Salt
¼ bunch cilantro

Remove covers from tomatillos and rinse. Bring pot of water to a boil. Boil tomatillos, peeled whole cloves (not heads) and jalapeños until tomatillos begin to soften – not mushy.

Remove tomatillos, garlic and jalapeños from boiling water. Open jalapeños and remove stems. I always test my peppers to see how hot it is before I add it to my salsa. If it is really spicy, you might want to devein it as well.

In blender, blend tomatillos, garlic (to taste), jalapeños (to taste). Then, add salt to taste and chopped cilantro.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Stick Butter, slightly melted
1 Egg, room temperature; slightly beaten
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
-
Directions:
Cream together butter, egg, and vanilla until just combined. In a large bowl, mix all of your dry ingredients (yes, even the sugars). Dump all of your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. With a cookie scoop, take a scoop of dough then press it out into your hands and hand roll the dough into a ball. Repeat process and bake cookies in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie start to turn golden brown. Do not overcook them or else they will come out crispy!

Chicken Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Seasoned Salt (such as Lawry's)
Canola or Vegetable Oil
-
Directions:
On a dinner plate, beat egg; set aside. On another dinner place, add flour and salt, pepper and seasoned salt; mix, then drizzle in milk, stirring with a fork while you drizzle to form little clumps of flour. These will stick to the chicken and make it extra crunchy. Wash your chicken and remove all excess fat. On a cutting board, butterfly your chicken by cutting it along one side through the middle to the other side but not completely cutting it all the way. It should open like a book. In a large skillet, put about and inch or 2 of oil and heat on medium. While your oil is heating up, dip your chicken in the egg, coating each side, then coat in the flour mixture, then carefully place your coated chicken in skillet and cook for about 6-8 minutes each side, depending on thickness of chicken. Once finished remove to a paper towel lined cookie sheet and set in oven on 170 degrees to keep warm while you finishing frying your other chicken, and then make your pan gravy. 170 degrees shouldn't be warm enough to put paper towels in your oven, but be cautious as all ovens are different. Once the grease is drained, you can just place them on a uncovered cookie sheet. I fry 1 piece at a time, because after butterflying them, only 1 will fit in the pan at a time.

Banana Cinnamon Rolls

Roasted Banana Cinnamon Rolls

2 ripe bananas cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 roll Pillsbury French Bread Loaf

4 Tablespoons softened butter

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 Cup powdered sugar

3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place banana slices and cut up pieces of butter into a small baking dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. Next, use a fork to smash roasted bananas until well combined.

2. Unroll Pillsbury French Bread dough into rectangle. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place dollops of roasted banana mixture evenly over top. Starting from long end, roll up into log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch slices and place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until just turning golden brown. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

3. Whisk powdered sugar and heavy cream until combined; drizzle over top of warm rolls.

12 rolls

****IF YOU HAVENT ALREADY YOU MUST GO CLICK THE TITLE AND VISIT http://picky-palate.com she has some AMAZING recipes!!!*****

Rolled up chicken dinner

See here for this oh so yummy looking dinner....I cant wait to give it a try!

http://picky-palate.com/2010/04/15/rolled-up-chicken-dinner/