I forgot how much fun it was to use cookie cutters. It was like I was a little kid again. I’m going to have to whip out my other cutters. Anyways, when you don’t know where to look for cookie recipes, I always fall back on my buddy Martha Stewart.Never disappoints!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more, for dusting 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 teaspoon canola oil or pure vegetable shortening
DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until combined. On slow speed, beat in flour and salt until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill until firm, at least 2 hours, or overnight.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/16-to-1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts with a 2-inch heart cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to an ungreased baking sheet; chill for 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 300 degrees with a rack in the center. Press the tines of a fork into each cookie to make designs. Bake until just beginning to brown around the edges, about 18 minutes. (Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.)
In the top of a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Stir in the oil. Dip half or one third of each cookie into the chocolate mixture. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to dry, or place them on a piece of parchment paper in the freezer for 10 minutes. Serve.
Well, Miki and I would never take the easy way out when we get together. So there is no way we would use pasta from a box!That being said, this pasta recipe was very very easy! It was easy probably because we got to use her cool fancy new pasta making machine. It was AWESOME! I want one!! She found a pasta recipe from Mario Batalli and the filling of the ravioli was from Annie’s Eats. Just click on her name for the Four Cheese Ravioli.
For the pasta part: It’s just this simple: Put down 3 cups of flour and dig a whole in the middle. Put 4 eggs in the middle. Then scramble the eggs and start integrating the flour. Knead until you get a cohesive ball. Let rest for 10 mins or so. They put it through a pasta machine to the thinness you want. We had a whole lot of extra so we also made some fettuccine! YUM!
Seems like every time I cook with Miki I get the cooking bug again. She’s like my muse! So, found this recipe for Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos. They are delicious! She used canned chicken and I wanted to use fresh. So before I made the taquitos, I cooked, in my crock pot, 2 frozen chicken breasts, buffalo sauce and a packet of ranch seasoning. I then used that shredded chicken with the rest of the ingredients to make the taquitos.
Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup buffalo sauce
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/8 cup blue cheese crumbles
1 lb of Chicken Breast
8 8-inch flour tortillas
coarse Kosher salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and buffalo sauce. Mix well. Stir in the Monterey jack cheese, blue cheese crumbles and chicken; mix well.
Place 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up. If needed, microwave the tortillas for about 30 seconds to make them soft and pliable enough to roll. Place on a baking sheet. Spray the taquitos with cooking spray, then sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake in the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with blue cheese dressing for dipping, if desired.
Oh yes, this recipe had it all…sweet, chocolatey, salty, amazingness! After making lunch with Miki, we needed some dessert. Again, we followed the directions to a T so feel free to grab it from Smitten Kitchen.
Miki and I got back to cooking and as always, it was a great Sunday! This recipe was delicious and really, it’s pretty healthy. Only 1 tbl of butter and 4 of cream. The rest is broccoli. We both agreed it needed a little more spices. Probably more garlic and pepper. We followed the direction 100% so you can see the recipe here: Smitten Kitchen
