Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I've been looking for the perfect oatmeal raisin recipe for a while. I posted one on here before that was good, but not perfect, and I'm just not one of those people that can taste a recipe and know what needs to be change. A couple of years ago a friend of ours gave me a cookie cook book so I decided to try the recipe in there. I think we've found a new favorite! Even my step-dad, who does not like raisins, took some home with him :)

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 & 1/2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Beat butter on medium high for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and (if desired) cinnamon and cloves. Beat until combined.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined, beat in flour, and stir in oats.
• Drop dough on to ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tacos

I know tacos are probably something every family makes and already has a "recipe" for, but I'm sure every one's is different, so I thought I'd share how we do Taco night at our house!

This recipe is for what we do on a basic night. Because we have tacos so often, I quit buying packets of taco seasoning and found a bulk container at Costco. We like both Taco Bell and McCormick's, but I've only seen the McCormick's in bulk.

I know the spinach probably sounds weird to everyone, but we started using it because lettuce really doesn't have anything in it. The spinach is so much better for you and tastes just as good (I think better) in the tacos.

Last, we like to serve these buffet style. Each person prepares their own tacos from the toppings available, that way everyone can use what they like. It's great for a party or a big get together, everyone can find something they like!

1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
8 flour burrito shells
1 bag Mexican blend shredded cheese
1 tomato, diced
2 cups spinach, chopped
1/2 can olives, chopped
Sour cream

• Prepare tomato, spinach, and olives and place in small bowls.
• Brown ground beef and drain off excess fat.
• Mix in taco seasoning according to directions on packet or container.
• Put seasoned beef on shell, top with cheese, and microwave approximately 10 seconds (or until cheese begins to melt).
• Top with spinach, olives, tomatoes, and sour cream.
• Fold closed and enjoy!

When I was little, I used to put all the toppings on the shell, eat it like a taco salad, then eat the shell by itself. Every once in a while I like to use salsa in the tacos as well. What other toppings do you use on your taco night?

Red Lobster Biscuits

This is another recipe from our seafood night. Here are links to the rest of the recipes:
Garlic Salmon
Shrimp Scampi

This is the second recipe I've tried for biscuits similar to those at Red Lobster. The first one didn't taste quite right, but I went back to see if I could find it again (in the midst of our moving, the drive with my recipes on it is still missing) and stumbled across this one. This sounded much better, so I tried it. It definitely tasted much better!

Biscuits:
2 & 1/2 cups bisquick baking mix
3/4 cup cold whole milk
4 Tbsp cold butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese
To brush on top:
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt, to taste

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine bisquick with cold butter and cut together with a pastry cutter or large fork. There should be small chunks of butter about the size of peas throughout when you're done.
• Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand to combine.
• Place approximately 1/4 cup portions onto ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake about 12-15 minutes or until tops begin to turn light brown.
• While baking, mix together butter, garlic powder, and dried parsley flakes for topping.
• When done, brush topping mixture over biscuits.

Shrimp Scampi

Here is another recipe from our seafood night :) Here are links to the rest of the recipes:
Garlic Salmon
Red Lobster Biscuits

This was the first time I'd ever made a dish with shrimp. I bought the shrimp precooked so I didn't have to shell or de-vein it. This was a pretty fast and easy recipe, took maybe 10-15 minutes to prepare and cook the whole thing.

The recipe calls for clarified butter, but I'm not very good at clarifying, plus I wanted to save time, so I just used regular butter. It didn't look or taste funny, so it can't be that big of a deal :)

1 & 1/2 lbs shrimp
1/3 cup clarified butter
4 Tbsp minced garlic
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 dry white wine
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

• Rinse shrimp and set aside.
• Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until softened (NOT browned).
• Add shrimp, green onions, wine, and lemon juice. Cook until shrimp is pink and firm.
• Add chopped parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Serve with lemon slices.

Garlic Salmon

Yokes had a seafood sale last Friday so I decided to have a seafood night here at home. I bought and cooked shrimp and crab legs for the first time! We also had fish and biscuits similar to what Red Lobster has. Here are links to the rest of the recipes we used last night:
Red Lobster Biscuits
Shrimp Scampi

This salmon recipe was a fast easy recipe, would be great for a fast weeknight dinner. For just the fish, it took about 10 minutes to prepare and cook. I found it online while looking for a fast recipe that I already had all of the ingredients for. As usual, you can use any type of fish you want. I used salmon for my piece and cod for my husband's.

2 Tbsp butter
3-4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
4 - 4 oz salmon fillets
Lemon wedges

• Season both sides of fillets with lemon pepper seasoning.
• In large skillet, over medium-high heat, melt butter. Stir in garlic.
• Put fish in pan and cook for approximately 3-5 minutes per side. Fish should flake when tested with fork.
• Serve with lemon wedges.

Snickerdoodles

As I was going through recipes and putting labels on them yesterday, I couldn't believe I hadn't put up a recipe of these wonderful cookies yet! I decided to make them this afternoon and share with you guys :)

The recipe is originally from an old copy of the red plaid Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The book had been used so many times, the pages are literally scattered throughout the rest of my mom's recipes. These are honestly THE BEST snickerdoodles you'll ever eat!

Side note, I don't know if it's my oven or cookie sheets, but I actually had to cook these for about 12 minutes rather than the 8 the recipe calls for.

3 & 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter or margarine (softened)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
• In large mixing bowl, beat butter for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
• Add eggs, milk, and vanilla, beat well.
• Add dry ingredients to wet and beat well until combined.
• Mix together the 3 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon, roll dough in to 1 inch balls, roll in mixture, and place on cookie sheet.
• Bake for about 8 minutes or until light golden.

Fruit Salad

Before I get to the recipe, I'd like to point out that I added labels to all of my posts! In the right hand column, there is now a list of categories to help you readers sort out the types of dishes I have in this blog. I hope you all find it to be a handy feature :) If any of you have any suggestions for more labels, or other changes that you feel might make the blog more user friendly, I'd LOVE to hear them! Also, if you'd like to see more of a certain type of recipe on here, let me know.

Now for the recipe! My mom got this recipe from my step-dad's sister (whew, mouthful). My mom has been making it for family get-togethers, but was too busy at the last one and asked me to make it for her. It's always a hit, the kids LOVE it, and hopefully you will too.

1 sm package vanilla pudding (NOT instant)
1 sm package orange Jell-O
1 - 8 oz container Cool Whip
1 - 11 oz can mandarin oranges
1 - 20 oz can pineapple chunks
2-3 medium bananas

• Cook pudding according to package, replacing the milk with water.
• Pour in to large bowl and stir in package of dry Jell-O. Refrigerate over night.
• Add Cool Whip to mixture and whip together until blended.
• Add drained oranges, pineapple chunks, and sliced bananas. If it will be a while before serving, you may want to hold off on the bananas so they don't brown.

Unfortunately, this picture doesn't really do the salad justice... it's much more orange in person!

Lemon-Herb Steak Marinade

When I put this marinade together, it seemed a little strange to me for steak. It smelled amazing, and turned out perfect! It's another meal that's pretty fast. The most time consuming part was crushing the garlic, and mincing the shallot. I didn't notice that it said to process in the blender, but it worked out anyway :)

4 - 1 inch steaks
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Juice and grated rind of two lemons (about 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1 shallot or onion, minced
1/4 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp pepper

• Process all ingredients (other than steak) in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• Place in baking dish or zip lock bag with steak and marinade at least two hours in refrigerator.
• Let steak stand 20 minutes at room temperature.
• Grill steaks at 400 degrees until desired doneness is reached.

Honey-Mustard Chicken

As promised, a new recipe! The picture doesn't make it look that amazing, honestly it just looks like grilled chicken, haha. But I promise, this was really good. The best part is, it was super fast and easy!

The recipe didn't state what kind of yogurt (plain or vanilla) so I went with plain and it tasted great :) I also didn't pound the chicken flat... I wasn't in the mood to take the time or make the mess. If you don't pound them, remember they'll need to cook a little longer on the grill though.

1 & 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded thin
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup honey mustard
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp cayenne

• Combine all ingredients in plastic bag.
• Shake to coat chicken.
• Grill over medium heat, 4-6 minutes each side
• Serve hot or in a sandwich.

White Bread (Bread Machine)

Since gallon ziploc bags aren't big enough to hold a 2 lb loaf of fresh baked bread, I decided to look for some bread boxes. I was sure that Tupperware would have one, but surprisingly they don't! I found this box on Amazon.com and I LOVE it :) It has a little vent at the end for humid climates. I open it when I first put the bread in the box, if it's warm bread. I close it after it's cooled a little to keep it moist.
While shopping for the box, I found this as a suggested item on the bread box page. It makes cutting slices soooooo much easier!
Anyway, for this recipe... I wanted a PB&J sandwich for lunch this afternoon, but I don't like wheat or cracked wheat bread, so I made a loaf of this white bread for myself. The recipe is pretty simple!
1 cup water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour (all-purpose works as well)
1, 1/4 oz package active dry yeast

• Place ingredients in to bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
• Select the desired crust and the regular cycle.
• Press start!