These are the treats I made for Christmas this year....I didn't get pictures of everything, but most of the recipes came from yourhomebasedmom.com if you want to see what they look like.

These lemon drop cookies are my new favorite lemon cookie - make sure you crush the lemon drops really well.  (Mine had big chunks in the cookie, but were still chewy rather than hard.)

Lemon Drop Cookies 

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 c butter/shortening (I used 1/2 c butter and 1 c shortening)
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
finely chopped zest of 1 lemon
6 oz. package crushed lemon drops
1 cup powdered sugar (I doubled this)
juice of 1 lemon (double)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and shortening in your mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs and flavoring and blend well. Sift dry ingredients and gradually add to wet mixture. Add lemon zest and crushed lemon drops. Roll in balls, flatten with a fork. Bake on parchment paper for 10-12 minutes. Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze. Cool 1-2 minutes, brush with glaze.

These snickers cookies were well-received at Meagan and Spencer's piano recital. 

Snickers Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

 1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

60 minature (bite size) Snickers candy bars (these are the smallest size ones – NOT the fun size)

chocolate glaze (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 .  Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients and add to peanut butter mixture.  Take 1 Tbsp. of dough and flatten into round shape in palm of hand.  Place Snickers bar in center and fold dough around it.  Roll in palms of your hand to form a smooth ball with the Snickers bar totally covered with the dough.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.  Drizzle top of cookies with chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 Tbps. milk

Mix powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa and milk.  Add additional as needed to thin mixture enough to drizzle from spoon.

These did not necessarily taste better than any other chocolate cookie (use butter instead of shortening!), but it's fun to bite into a frosted marshmallow.

Chocolate Mountains 

1/2 C shortening

1/2 C evaporated milk

2 Tbsp water

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 C flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 C cocoa

1/2 C chopped walnuts, optional (I didn’t put them in)

24 large marshmallows, cut in half

Beat well shortening, milk, water, egg and vanilla.  Add remaining ingredients except marshmallows, blend well.  Drop by teaspoonful on greased cookie sheet.  Bake 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Quickly place  marshmallow half (sticky side down) on each cookie.  Let cool.

Frosting:

1/3 C soft butter

2 C powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

About 2 Tbsp milk

6 Tbsp cocoa

2 Tbsp oil

Combine frosting ingredients and beat until smooth.  Frost marshmallows like a mountain.  Enjoy!

This mint fudge was very yummy, and I love that it is pink. I ate so much of this and kept sneaking into the packages I'd set aside to give away.  If you can't find the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips (I found them at Walmart, but they are seasonal) the regular Andes baking chips would be really good paired with (milk) chocolate chips instead of white.

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

yourhomebasedmom.com

4 C sugar

1 can (14 oz.) evaporated milk

1 C butter

1 bag white chocolate chips

1 pint marshmallow cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 bag Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Melt butter in a large pan and add the milk and sugar.  Cook over medium heat until it reaches 236 degrees, stirring constantly.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 236 degrees.  Be sure and use a candy thermometer so your consistency turns out right.  You don't want rock hard fudge or soft runny fudge either!

Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, marshmallow cream and vanilla.

Stir until melted and blended.

Gently fold in about 1/2 the bag of peppermint crunch then pour into a buttered 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle the remaining crunch on top.

Cool completely.

This is the easiest caramel corn ever and it is delicious.  Once you make this you'll never go back to the old baking method.  I've always followed the direction exactly and it's turned out every time.

Microwave Caramel Corn

yourhomebasedmom.com

16 cups popped corn (I used my air popper)

1 C brown sugar

1/4 C Karo syrup

1/2 C butter

Cook sugar, syrup and butter in a glass bowl in microwave on high for one minute.  Stir and repeat for a total of five minutes.  Should be hot and bubble. 

Add:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 tsp vanilla
Mix until foamy.  Put popped corn into a brown grocery bag.  Pour syrup into bag.  Stir to coat.  Fold bag over.  Place in microwave and microwave for one minute and shake.  Repeat.  Microwave 30 seconds and shake.  Repeat.  (Sprinkle with cinammon sugar if desired and shake again)
Pour popcorn out to cool on wax paper.

These might be my favorite cookie at Christmastime.  I love soft and chewy gingersnaps.  Sometimes I dip half in melted white chocolate and sprinkle with Christmasy sugar or sprinkles to give away.

Gingersnaps

1 1/4 cups butter
1/3 cup molasses
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
Additional sugar

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.  Cool 15 minutes.  Mix butter mixture, molasses, 1 2/3 cups sugar and the eggs in large bowl until well blended.  Stir in remaining ingredients except additional sugar.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place about 2 inces apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.  Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

My "Go-To" teacher, visiting teaching, neighbor, etc. gift:

Chex Vanilla Chunks

1 cup M&Ms
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Wheat Chex
(I don't like rice chex so I use half corn/half wheat)
2 cups salted dry-roasted peanuts
2 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups small pretzal twists
1 pkg. (20 oz) vanilla almond bark (or any white chocolate)

1.  Place M&Ms in freezer to chill.  Mix cereals, peanuts, pretzels, and marshmallows in large bowl; set aside.
2.  Microwave vanilla bark in large microwavable bowl uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until coating can be stirred smooth.
3.  Gently and quickly fold cereal mixture into vanilla coating with rubber spatula, stirring gently until evenly coated.  Stir in chilled M&Ms.  Spread onto waxed paper; cool completely.  Break into chunks.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.  Yield 16 cups.

Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

A new favorite.

Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (or ketchup)
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (I just use 1/2 tbsp)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon water

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf. **instead of this mixture, I just mix BBQ sauce and ketchup to spread over the top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

From this link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/turkey-and-quinoa-meatloaf/detail.aspx

Beef Stroganoff

This is a good, hearty crock pot dinner. London Broil are often on sale here, so I usually cut it up and use it instead of stew meat.

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
Put in crock pot:
2-3 pounds stew meat
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 onion, sliced
Mix in a bowl and pour over meat:
¼ tsp. garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock (made up from cubes or granules)
1 tablespoon ketchup
Cook in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crockpot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.
Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.
*Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. I store the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

Cafe Rio Pork

Here are two recipes for Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burritos. The first is simpler, and I think I made the second once because I had lost my recipe and this one included recipes for the rice and beans as well. Both are good.

1. Pork Barbacoa
4 lb. pork roast
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup of 7-Up
Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours. Shred pork before serving.
Cilantro Lime Tomatilla Dressing
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1 Tbsp. salsa verde
1/8 tsp. tabasco
1/3 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 lime, zest and juice
Blend ingredients in blender until smooth.

2. Shredded Sweet Pork
3 lb pork roast
1 c brown sugar
1 c Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tb dried minced onions
Cook all ingredients in a crock pot on low all day (about 8 hours). One hour before serving, remove roast and shred it. Dump out all cooking juices and place shredded pork back into crockpot and add...

1 c brown sugar
1 c red enchilada sauce

Cilantro Lime Rice
3 c water
3 c Minute rice
4 cubes chicken bouillon
4 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tb canola oil
2 Tb fresh lime juice
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 onion
1 can green chilies
Blend cilantro, onion, and chilies in food processor. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked. You can substitute regular rice, just adjust the water to rice ratio accordingly.

Garlic Black Beans
1 can black beans
1/3 c tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)
1 tsp cumin
2 Tb canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb chopped cilantro
Heat oil then add cumin and garlic until garlic begins to pop. Add rest of ingredients and serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
3 tomatillos, peeled and quartered ( I must have used salsa verde because I don't recall ever using a real tomatillo)
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c sour cream
1 pkg dry buttermilk ranch dressing
1 c fresh chopped cilantro
6 green onions with ends, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)
3 tsp sugar
1 jalapeno, sliced thin - add to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

On a large warm tortilla, layer rice, beans, pork. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, dressing, sour cream, avocados - whatever.

New Blog

If anyone has any recipes to share or requests for recipes, I think you can all post on this blog now. If you can think of any favorite recipes to post, do it. Hopefully we can all get some good new meal ideas!
My first requests:
Danielle- Cafe Rio sweet pork burritos
Mom- Cinnamon Rolls
Anyone- any easy crock pot recipes, or good Chili

If anyone has any other ideas for our recipe blog, go ahead.