Glazed Strawberry Cookies

Seeing all the strawberries that are available is inspiring me to want to start baking with them. These cookies are one of my favorites, and are really delicious.

They are perfect with a cold glad of milk at home, but also great to pack up for a picnic. Moist and flavorful, they didn't last long at my house.

Recipe for Glazed Strawberry Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup diced strawberries
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon

For glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

 1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place strawberries, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar into a small mixing bowl and toss together until well coated. Place in refrigerator and set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the remaining flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter until a fine/even, grainy texture forms.
4. Stir in the Greek yogurt and vanilla and mix until just combined. Fold in the strawberry mixture and lemon zest and mix until well combined.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spoon on 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until the cookies have barely started to brown on top. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
7. While the cookies cool, make the glaze: Place the sugar, milk and vanilla into a small bowl and gently stir together with a fork until no lumps remain. Drizzle glaze over cookies and serve or allow to set, about 30 minutes, before serving.

Makes 20-24 cookies.


Inspired by Spoon Fork Bacon

Cowboy Quiche From The Pioneer Woman Cooks



I have to say that I haven't made very many quiches. I made a few attempts many years ago, but I don't remember being very impressed by them.

But that's before I discovered Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook, and her recipe for Cowboy Quiche.

Ree says she's made this for years, and will keep on making it till the day she dies, because it really is that good. I think she calls it a cowboy quiche so the men in her life won't think it's sissy food.

It really is delicious, and I love that you can put in whatever veggies you have on hand. I used broccoli, but you could use asparagus, mushrooms, or bell peppers, too. Or you can completely leave out the veggies altogether, but I thought the broccoli tasted great.

The recipe calls for two onions, but I only used one onion instead of two. One of my kids isn't a big onion lover, and she was going to be eating this, and I thought two onions might be a bit much for her.

I also used a super easy pie crust recipe instead of the one used in the book. It came out just great, and took just a few minutes to put together and bake.

Recipe for Cowboy Quiche

Ingredients:

For quiche crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk

For the quiche:
8 slices bacon, fried until chewy
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

To make crust, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all ingredients in pie plate. Stir together with a fork until blended. Pat mixture into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Poke holes in bottom and sides of crust. Bake for 15 minutes in oven, or until crust is golden brown.

To make the quiche, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop up the cooked bacon into bite-sized pieces. In a heavy skillet, over medium heat, fry the onions in the butter until deep, golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
Mix the eggs, cream, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the bacon, onions and cheese. Add 1 cup of veggies (if you choose to use any). Stir to combine.
Pour the filling into the pie shell, cover lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to set for 10 minutes.

Serves about 8.

Enjoy!!

Time To Fire Up The Grill With Hillshire Farm and Your Best Grilling Recipes



I have really been looking forward to some warm weather, so when it came, I was more than ready to get out the grill and start thinking about some good grilling recipes.

My family and I love to barbeque and eat out on the deck. But our Seattle area weather can be gorgeous one day, and rainy and cold the next.

We took advantage of a couple of sunny days to grill up some new Hillshire Farm American Craft Sausages that I picked up at Walmart.

Let me say right now, that I love these new sausages. I have bought Hillshire Farm meats forever, so I always trust that they will deliver a great tasting product, and they really came through with this one.

Delicious and flavorful, the new American Craft Sausages come in five flavors. I bought the Garlic & Onion, and the Smoky Bourbon flavors.

There are also Original Bratwurst, Jalapeno & Cheddar, and Craft Beer Brat to choose from as well.

These sausages are already fully cooked, so you can grill them, fry them, or microwave them in a short time.

We grilled them for about ten minutes, and they were smelling pretty delicious, and all ready to go into a bun with some toppings.

Sometimes we get fancier with what we put on our grilled sausages, but this time we just wanted the basics, good old-fashioned mustard and barbeque sauce.

I have to admit I have a bit of an onion obsession!!

I just love frying onions until they are soft and brown, and adding a tiny bit of sugar to help caramelize them.

I pile them high on all kinds of cooked or grilled meats. I have to say they were pretty fantastic on my sausages, and they totally brought out the flavor of the Garlic & Onion variety.

My son-law- was the grill master on the day we had this barbeque. Living in the Pacific Northwest, he has really enjoyed trying many of the local beers from some of the small breweries that we have here. So when I told him that Hillshire also made the sausages in the Craft Beer Brat flavor, he asked me why I didn't buy any.

That variety is next on my list to try for sure. If it's as good as the Smokey Bourbon, it's got to be delicious!!

I'm so looking forward to the summer months, where we can enjoy delicious foods, family and friends, outside on the deck.
#CollectiveBias

You can find all five of the new Hillshire Farm Craft American Sausages at Walmart.

From May1st - 4th, select Walmart stores will be featuring a special demo of American Craft Sausages.

Pick up a package today, and #StartYourGrill season off right, with these new delicious sausages from Hillshire Farm.

Recipe For Strawberry Cake

This is another cake recipe from the new Martha Stewart's Cakes book. With all the strawberries that are now available at grocery stores and farmer's markets, this recipe is a real winner for strawberry lovers.

It's easy to make, and moist and delicious inside. Keep a close eye on the baking time, as you don't want it to bake too long and end up too dry.

We put some whipped cream on each slice, and it was a delicious, mid-week dessert that pleased the whole family. The recipe was quite easy too.

I've talked about the Martha Stewart's Cakes book before when I made the Carrot Tea Cake recipe.

I have to say that this book really is a keeper, and one that I can see using for many, many years to come. It has virtually all the cake recipes that a baker would ever need, and many of the recipes are actually very easy.

I know Martha Stewart recipes can be intimidating, but the recipes in this book are not. I love the book for it's simplicity and the down-right delicious cakes that run from every day coffeecakes, to special occasion birthday cakes.


Recipe for Strawberry Cake

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter , room temperature, plus more for pie dish
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch ceramic or tin pie plate. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, gradually add flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down, and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over berries.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, and continue to bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 60 minutes more. Transfer pie plate to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 8 servings.

Enjoy!!

Homemade Tastes Like Cheez-Its Crackers Recipe

My grandchildren and I love to snack. When they are with me, they know Nana is always good for a tasty snack.

I don't like feeding them snacks with lots of preservatives and ingredients I can't even pronounce.  So this recipe for homemade crackers that really do taste like Cheez-Its is one of our favorites.

It's simple to make, and you can even get the kids to help you make them. And a double batch is recommended if you have lots of little snackers in your house. They don't last long.

Recipe for Cheese Crackers

Ingredients:

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons ice water
sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place all ingredients in a food processor, mix until well blended. Place dough in the refrigerator and chill for 15 minutes.
Roll out dough and slice into small squares. Put them on a non-stick cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Slightly flatten them with a fork.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool before eating.

Enjoy!!



Recipe from Table For More blog