Ginger Snap Cookies

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes. The first time I tried a ginger snap cookie it was out of a bag and made with a jalapeno spice. It was so delicious! Then I began snooping through my Mom's recipe collection and guess what I found? That's right, a recipe for homemade ginger snap cookies. It is said that ginger can help relieve problems associated with your digestive tract and even help reduce pain from some forms of arthritis. Whatever the ginger spice does to your health there is one thing I know it does for my taste buds. It makes them happy! This recipe has a strong flavor of ginger but is also sweet, with a texture that is soft and chewy. Try it!

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup sugar

Directions
In a large mixing bowl place about half of the flour then add the brown sugar, shortening, molasses, egg, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
The mixing process is rather tough so please try using an electric beater.
Beat, with an electric beater, on medium to high speed till thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in what's left of the flour and mix until all is combined.

To make the cookies, shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place the sugar in a bowl then roll the 1-inch balls in the sugar, coat evenly. Place the coated cookie rolls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are set and tops are crackled. Cool cookies  on sheet for 1 minute then remove to a wire rack.
This recipe should make at least 48 cookies.

Easy Bagel Sandwich

Recently, I have been craving the flavor of New York Bagel Cafe. Oh delish!! When I use to live in California I would catch a bus to the Capitola Mall just to get me a sandwich. They have dozens of flavored bagels, as well as dozens more flavors of cream cheese. It's like a bagel/cream cheese heaven. My cravings for these sandwiches has prompted me to post this recipe. It's the simpliest recipe I will ever post on here, but it is so delicious. Try it! :) Let me know what things you added to your bagel to make it irresistable.

Ingredients
1 bagel cut in half (pre-sliced is the easiest)
Any flavor of cream cheese (I love salmon or chives and onions. Mmmmmm!)
Any lunch meat, veggie, extra cheese, or even a fried egg.

Directions
Toast your cut bagel in a toaster until it is light brown. Try not to over cook your bagel because you want it slightly soft, like homemade bread. Once the two slices of bagel are toasted wait a minute before adding the cream cheese. Trust me, I've learned to wait. Bagels are hot! Apply as much cream cheese as you like, but not so much that it smooshes out the side when you try to eat it. Now, apply your goodies and enjoy.

Since I don't eat meat, my personal favorite edibles on a bagel are bean sprouts, avocado, lettuce, and sometimes a tomato. Oh my gosh it's good! My personal favorite bagel is jalapeno. Spicy!

Sparkling Cran-Orange Delite

I figured since I'm always putting food on here I should include a drink to help wash down some of the more dry goodies I've blogged about. This drink was first introduced to me at a Christmas party and I was like, "Wow, that's awesome!" It's non-alcoholic, though if you wanted to add some spirit to it I'm sure it would be just as good. This drink is tart but refreshing, and the soda pop adds some zest to it. This recipe is sooooo easy, even a zombie can make it. :) Enjoy!

Ingredients
1  32 ounce bottle of cranberry juice (or 1  12 ounce can of frozen cranberry juice)
1  32 ounce bottle of orange juice (or 1  12 ounce can of frozen orange juice)
1  2 liter bottle of 7-up or Sprite
1  large punch bowl or any large mixing bowl
1 wooden or metal spoon

Directions
Open bottles of cranberry and orange juice and pour into large bowl. If using frozen juices dump them directly into large bowl. You can thaw the frozen juices but DO NOT DILUTE them with water. Pour 7-up or Sprite into the large bowl and mix all of the juices together. If using frozen juices you may need to stir longer to break up the frozen clumps of juice.
You're done and ready to enjoy. :) Mmmmm!

Bisquick Veggie Pizza

Pizza! Bisquick! Combine the two and you have an awesome and easy breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I always use to think that Bisquick was only good for making biscuits until I looked at the box and found several yummy recipes. This is one of them. The crust is light and flaky, unlike regular pizza dough, and it gets the job done when your belly is growling and begging for pizza. Try it!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups original Bisquick
1/3 cup very hot water
1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (or you can use a can of mushrooms-remember to drain the juice first)
1 large bell pepper, chopped = 1 cup
1 small red onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 ounces)

Directions
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan. Stir Bisquick and hot water; beat 20 strokes until soft dough forms. Press dough in a pizza pan, using fingers dusted with Bisquick; pinch edges to form 1/2-inch rim.
Spread pizza sauce over dough. Top with the veggies then sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Tips
Try substituting the bell peppers or mushrooms with zucchini or black olives. Add a little bit of garlic powder (or any other spice you enjoy) to the Bisquick mix to give the crust an extra flavor. Remember, you don't have to add the whole jar of pizza sauce to your crust. I prefer adding a medium amount so it doesn't overpower the flavor of the veggies and cheese. Experiment...it's your pizza! :)

Serves 8

Vegetable Soup with Noodles

Fall will arrive soon, which means chilly winds and lots of warm soup. Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed many delicious recipes for soups, chicken noodle, potato, french onion, mushroom, cabbage and leeks...the list goes on and on. Yet, my all-time favorite recipe comes straight from the files of my own kitchen. Since I love...LOVE...vegetables this soup is made year round. It's sweet, salty, full of vitamins, has an awesome garlic flavor and is loaded with veggies. Mmmmmm good!

Ingredients
4-6 cups of water (depending upon how much broth you like)
2-3 Knorr brand chicken bouillon rectangles (cubes-they are the large ones-1 of these makes 2 cups of broth)
12 baby carrots (can add more or less)
3 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (you can buy a jar of it at the stores-it's so much easier)
2 cups of cauliflower florets
Half a bag of egg noodles
Handful of shredded cabbage (I'm lazy so I use the store bought shredded cabbage-It works :)
Half an onion sliced and diced into medium sized chunks (if you enjoy onions-add more :)
2 pinches of black pepper (more or less-it adds a spicy flavor to the broth)
5 medium sized mushrooms sliced (thin or thick-it's your choice)
1 small zucchini cubed1 head of broccoli broke into small florets (florets are the individual stems with the flowery green stuff on it-:)

Directions
Pour the cups of water into a large pan then add the carrots and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil on medium to high heat. Boil carrots for 5-7 minutes before carefully adding the potatoes. Add the minced garlic. Stir and let boil another 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and egg noodles. Stir and let boil for 5-7 minutes then carefully add the cabbage, onions, black pepper, and mushrooms. Stir. This will enhance the flavor of the broth without over cooking the veggies. If there isn't enough broth carefully add another cup of water. Bring to boil. Add the zucchini and broccoli. Stir. Reduce heat to medium and cover with a lid. Let boil for another 5-10 minutes until all of the veggies are done to your liking. Bring on the club crackers!

Tip 
The potatoes are added in the beginning to soften them enough so that they slightly break apart to add a thicker base to the broth, but if you enjoy a thinner broth add them later. Try adding them the same time you add the noodles and cauliflower. They will have a firmer texture and your broth will be thinner.
Also, try adding a tomato to the soup. It will enhance the flavor of the broth. Try adding it the same time you add the cabbage, etc.

If anyone has ideas on how to make this soup or any other soup better please leave me a message. I would love to read your ideas. :)

Seasoned Pretzels

A friend of mine brought a container of these naughty little snacks to work one day and I've been hooked ever since. The original recipe is for crackers but by substituting in pretzels the spicy seasoning and salty pretzel gives your taste buds a kick in the right direction. Try the recipe both ways and see which one leaves you begging for more. :) Game day will never be the same!

Ingredients
2 bags of pretzels (12-15 oz) or 1 box of saltine crackers 
1 cup of canola or vegetable oil (may add 1-2 extra tablespoons of oil if the pretzel bags are 15oz)
1 package of dry ranch dressing (Hidden Valley Ranch is the best!)
1/4 cup crushed red peppers (more or less--depending upon how spicy you like your food/snacks)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder


Directions
Open bags of pretzels or crackers and pour them into a restaurant size bowl or jar. (If you have ever seen what a large, glass sun tea jar is--that's the size you need) The bowl or jar must have a lid. Mix oil, dry ranch dressing, red peppers, pepper, and garlic in a tall cup for a minute. Pour oil seasoning mix over the top of the pretzels or crackers. Place lid on bowl or jar and rotate the snacks clockwise for about a minute. Let sit for several minutes, then rotate the snacks again. Do this several more times until it looks as if all the pretzels or crackers have the oil seasoning mix covering them.
If using pretzels, after seasoning them, place the pretzels on a large cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 225 degrees for at least 15 minutes. Let cool.
If using crackers, you're done. :)


Tip
Be creative with your spices. You never know, you may just create a flavor your friends will knock down your door to get. :) Enjoy!

Feature Story- All Recipes Awesome Website

When it comes to great variety of recipes on the Internet, All Recipes website has other contenders beat. In fact, whenever I'm searching the web for new tasty delights or just need new ideas for classic favorites, All Recipe always pops up on the list and it always comes with a photo of what I'm searching for.
Their website offers tips and advice on how to achieve the best dishes, from desserts all the way to macaroni and cheese and they teach you how to choose, as the french say it, la plupart de vin délicieux...the most delicious wine. Let's not forget that they even offer a free membership to their site where you can save your favorite recipes, ask expert chefs questions, and create your own shopping list. Yet, the most rewarding part of their website are the recipes. They offer gourmet recipes, classic recipes passed down from generations, desserts, and holiday treasures. Most of these yummy dishes are from the viewers very own collection.
So, if you're ever in need of a quick fix on how to bake a scrumptious chocolate cake or just need advice on how to achieve a thick gravy, don't waste your time flipping through hundreds of pages in a recipe book, just get online and go to All Recipes. They will have what you need and more.
If you're ready to do some cooking/baking go to All Recipes:http://allrecipes.com/ Enjoy! :-)

Sweet German Coleslaw

Ever since my family and me went to Chicken Annie's in Pittsburg, Kansas I have had a taste for German Coleslaw. My thirst for German food may have something to do with the fact that my Mom is full-blooded German, or it may just be that German food just tastes so dang good. I love it! While surfing the net I came across this unique family recipe from Joyce Brown and decided to give it a try. It's sweet, crunchy, tart, and oh so good! Her recipe is for 14 people, so I scaled it down to 6, gave it a more simple touch, and am now blogging it to you. I've added the link to her recipe as well, just in case you want to try making the original recipe.

Ingredients:
1 bag of Tri-color or Angel Hair coleslaw
1-1/4 green onions, sliced or diced
1/4 cup of sugar (if you don't like things real sweet-try reducing the amount of sugar by a teaspoon)
1/4 cup of vinegar (if you love a vinegar taste-add a tablespoon more of vinegar)
3/4 teaspoon of celery seed
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine cabbage and onions. In a saucepan, mix sugar, vinegar, celery seed, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the vegetable oil, then return to a boil. Cook until sugar dissolves. Pour over cabbage mixture, toss gently. Place in the fridge or eat while it's warm. Either way it's good!

Tip:
If you love the flavor of other spices such as: garlic, pepper, cayenne, lemon, etc. Simply add it to the vinegar mix the same time you're adding the salt and celery seed. I usually add garlic and pepper. It gives the flavor an extra kick and that adds to my love of German coleslaw. Mmmmm, I can taste it already. Enjoy. I know I will.

Yummy Summer No Bake Cookies

During the summer months no one wants to add more heat to their house by turning on the oven to bake a couple dozen cookies. That's why my first blog is all about an old-fashioned favorite from my childhood, maybe even yours, that takes little time to prepare and no time to bake.

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter (no margarine-cookies won't set right)
1/2 cup milk (may use skim extra milk)
1 cup peanut butter (creamy is best but if you love peanuts-add some crunchy peanut butter)
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups quick oats oatmeal
Waxed paper
Several cookie sheets

Tip
If you prefer a lighter flavor of chocolate try reducing the amount of cocoa to two or three tablespoons. I prefer two tablespoons because it allows in the flavor of the peanut butter. It's delish!

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, medium or large in size, bring to boil--butter, milk, sugar and cocoa. Let boil for 1 minute. While waiting, blend together the quick oats, peanut butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. When you are positive that the butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk have boiled for 1 minute remove from the burner and add the oatmeal mixture. Blend well.

On the cookie sheets place enough wax paper so as to cover the tops of the cookie sheet. Drop your no bake mixture by the teaspoonfuls onto the wax paper. Allow to cool and harden before eating.

Tip

If your taste buds are anxious for a bite of those delicious no bakes, try placing the cookie sheets in the fridge. They will be ready in no time and your senses will be happy. Makes 3 dozen or more.