Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Tuesday's Tips & Tricks: Mailing Cookies


When my son was in college, I mailed him a lot of cookies!  His favorite, is my oatmeal cookie.  I tried several different ways to mail the cookies.  I finally settled on mailing the cookies in microwave plain flavor popcorn.  They protected the cookies without adding changing or add other flavors to the them. 


Make sure you wrap your cookies in plastic wrap or put them in a cookie tin first.  Then settle them in the middle of the popcorn, completely covering the cookies on all sides.

How do you mail your cookies?

Check back on Friday, for my 
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Candy.
You will love it!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Biscochitos


Biscochitos


1 (16.5 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Place the package of sugar cookie dough on the counter and let sit until it comes to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   


In a large bowl, combine cookie dough, flour, and anise seed.  Mix well with an electric mixer.   


In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.   


Mix well.  Using a cookie scoop, arrange cookie dough 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.   


Dip the bottom of a glass in the cinnamon and sugar mixture,(wet the bottom of the glass with water, the first time you dip it in the cinnamon mixture).  

Press the bottom of the glass onto the cookie dough, flattening it slightly.  Repeat process on all cookies. 
 
 Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Makes 1 dozen cookies.

 
I live in New Mexico, and was really excited when I learned that the Biscochito is the official state cookie of New Mexico.  It is also called a Mexican Christmas Cookie.  Whatever you call it, I call it delicious! 

What does the Biscochito taste like?  Well, if a Snickerdoodle cookie and licorice married and had a baby, it would be the Biscochito.  The sweet cookie, topped with cinnamon and sugar, is complimented by the rich taste of licorice, that is not overpowering, it is just flavor enhancing.

Traditionally when this recipe is made, they use lard with some kind of liquor mixed in.  Then they roll them out and cut the dough into shapes, just like you would with sugar cookies.  Like you, I am very busy and I have to use shortcuts when I cook, because there just never seems to be enough time in the day.   For this recipe, was able to cut the ingredients down from 11 ingredients to only four, and I bypassed the rolling and cutting out of the cookie dough, saving not only time but also clean up.


Stop back by on Tuesday, for my 
Tuesday's Tips & Tricks post!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

My friend, Pam, of, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  is taking some time off from blogging.  But she has incredible recipes in her archives! 

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Giveaway Winner!


The winner of the giveaway for Stephen's cookbook is: Happier than a Pig in Mud
Please email me at: mykindofcooking@gmail.com
with your name and address and I will forward them to Stephen so he can mail your cookbook to you.

Visit Stephen's blog, The Obsessive Chef.

Check back on Friday, for an easy  and delicious
Mexican Christmas cookie recipe called, Biscochitos!


Visit my friends blogs!


You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

My friend, Pam, of, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  is taking some time off from blogging.  But she has incredible recipes in her archives! 

Friday, November 25, 2011

Italian Sausage Sandwiches


Italian Sausage Sandwiches

1 pound Italian sausage
2 hoagie buns
1/2 cup mild or hot banana pepper rings
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Form Italian sausage to fit hoagie buns.  In large skillet, fry Italian sausage until cooked through.


Place hoagie buns under the broiler and toast until golden brown.  Remove from oven and place sausage patties on bottom part of the buns.


Arrange peppers over top of sausage patties.  


Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top.  


Broil until cheese melts and is golden brown.  Makes 2 servings


This super simple sandwich is one of my husband's favorites.  The spicy sausage, with the sweet pickled pepper rings, and the melted mozzarella cheese, all on a toasted bun, is a combination my husband thinks can't be beat.  I have tried to talk him into making changes to the sandwich, but he has asked me not to "mess" with his sandwich, so I guess I will leave it just like it is. 

 The winner of the Giveaway for Stephen's cookbook 
will be announced on Tuesaday

Visit my friends blogs!

My friends are taking some time off from blogging, but they have incredible recipes in their archives!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Tuesday's Tips & Tricks: Chopping Tomatoes


Sometimes when my husband, Stan, goes to the store for me he will come back with an ingredient that is close, but not exactly what I asked for.  There are so many different types of canned tomatoes, the guy can't be blamed for getting mixed up about what I need.

If I get canned whole tomatoes by mistake, and I needed chopped or diced tomatoes, I pull out my kitchen shears and cut up the tomatoes while they are still in the can.  It is quick and easy and there is no mess.

Check back on Friday for my 
husband's favorite sandwich recipe,
Italian Sausage Sandwiches

 Be sure to enter the Giveaway for Stephen's cookbook!

Visit my friends blogs!

My friends are taking some time off from blogging, but they have incredible recipes in their archives!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Turkey on Biscuits

Turkey on Biscuits
My version of Stephen's recipe.

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons cornstarch
refrigerated biscuits   


In large skillet, saute mushrooms and onions in butter over medium high heat until onions are translucent.


Add garlic.  Saute until lightly golden brown.  


Add turkey, chicken stock, and peas.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low.  


In small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/3 cup cold water. Mix well.  Cook until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.


My friend Stephen, aka The Obsessive Chef, has published his cookbook, A Cook's Books for Cooks.  I am one of the lucky bloggers who received a copy of his book to use for a giveaway.  The cookbook is so full of delicious recipes, it made finding just one to make for this post a difficult task.

I finally decided on his, Chick on Biscuits, recipe.  At the urging of, Stephen, I change the recipe to fit my family.  My husband loves biscuits and gravy, and this recipe is a nice change from the traditional biscuits and gravy recipe that I make with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey. 

Below is Stephen's original recipe.


Be sure to enter the Giveaway for Stephen's cookbook!

Chick on Biscuits
By Stephen Crout

This is kind of retro – back to what I was served many a time after getting home
from Sunday school and church.

2 cups of shredded cooked chicken
3 cups chicken broth (it can be from you poaching bird parts)
½ can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (optional – I had them in the fridge)
½ onion roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2/3 package of frozen peas and pearl onions partially thawed
3 Tbs butter (divided 2/1)
2 Tbs cornstarch dissolved in water
Chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Your favorite refrigerator biscuits from the supermarket

Bake the biscuits according to package directions.
Begin by bringing the broth to a simmer and reducing it by perhaps 1/3. The best
way to decide how far to go with the reduction is to taste it. You’ll know when it’s
ready. But don’t add any salt until the reduction is complete.

In a pot big enough to add all the ingredients and still be able to stir it easily melt 2
Tbs of the butter. At this point you will add some of the cornstarch mixture. It will
change the thickness of the liquid very quickly, so add only what you need. You
have to decide for yourself when it’s thick enough.

Add some salt and black pepper (keep tasting along the way) and dissolve the
remaining Tbs of butter in it.

While all this has been going on you can have been partially cooking the peas and
onions in the microwave. Mostly you just want to get it thawed and warmed up a
bit. It needs very little cooking. Add the garbanzos, peas and onions, chicken (and
anything else you’ve got that sounds good) to the gravy mixture and get it all
thoroughly hot.

Give it a final taste test, spoon the mixture over halved biscuits in heated wide
bowls, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, garnish with some chopped parsley or
cilantro and serve.

This tastes so 50's! I think I'm leaning toward being a retro cook. Now if I can only
find a place to buy retros.


Stop back by on Tuesday, for my 
Tuesday's Tips & Tricks post!

Visit my friends blogs!

My friends are taking some time off from blogging, but they have incredible recipes in their archives!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Giveaway!


This is a cookbook which is perhaps unlike any other you have ever read. It almost has a plot!  It reads like fiction.  It's full of mouthiness, according to the author, Stephen Crout of the The Obsessive Chef blog, and he likes to think of it as wit. You may not agree with everything, Stephen, has put in the book, but if you love to read cookbooks, then you will enjoy this book.  Mixed in with the stories, are helpful cooking tips, and delicious creative recipes.

Stephen's, goal with this cookbook is to inspire you to think out of the box, and get creative in the kitchen.  Along with his incredible recipes, are lists of ingredients without the exact amount needed, so you can experiment and create a recipe that is fitting to your taste, not his.

He has been advocating in recent years: don't be a slave to anything in the kitchen. Use what you have and make what you want. It's no big deal!

If you would like to purchase a copy of Stephen's cookbook,
click this link: https://www.createspace.com/3695950

Giveaway Details

It is easy to have a chance to win a copy of Stephen's cookbook.

1. Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect (The box is on the right side of the blog, click the "Follow" button) or "Like" my Facebook page.

2. Leave a comment on this post.  

The winner will be picked randomly and announced on Monday, November 28th.

Stephen told me to take one of his recipes and recreate it, so for Friday's recipe that is just what I did.

Check back on Friday
for my version of one of Stephen's recipes.
Turkey on Biscuits,
it is a great after Thanksgiving leftover recipe!




Visit my friends blogs!

My friends are taking some time off from blogging, but they have incredible recipes in their archives!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!