Francine's Snickerdoodles

Story:

I really like Snickerdoodles.

I think it's because I'm a sugar kind of girl. I usually take candy over chocolate... to the bewilderment of my husband who is the bigger chocolate lover of the family.

My friend, Francine B., has provided me with my favorite little treat on more than one occasion... and her snickerdoodles are awesome! So, being the me that I am, I asked her for the recipe... and here you have it:

Ingredients:

1 C butter or margarine

1 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1/2 t almond extract*

2 3/4 C flour

2 t cream of tartar**

1 t baking soda

for the coating:

1/2 C sugar

1 t cinnamon

Directions:

Cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, and almond extract.

Then add the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda.

(Sometimes I have to chill it in the fridge a little bit here if the cookie dough is too soft to handle.)

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Roll into little balls, and roll the little balls in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Place on cookie sheets and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Cool on the pan for 3-4 minutes.***

*I think the almond extract is the "secret ingredient" in this recipe ... and I love it because it smells like my mom's homemade frosting; she always used almond extract in the frosting she made for our birthday cakes. And I thought it was cute when Gretchen was helping me make these a few weeks ago, she smelled the dough and said, "Oooh. These are frosting cookies!" She recognizes the smell as well.

**Does anyone know of another use for cream of tartar besides in snickerdoodles? That's the only time I've ever used it...

***Francine gave me a little cookie tip... she lets her cookie sheets cool completely before placing the next batch on. I find it works nicely, especially with chocolate chip cookies; it keeps the chips from melting on the sheets before baking onto the sheet.

Easy Cheesy Pie

Story:

I was looking for a treat for our Family Night last night, and as I flipped through my scrapbook of a cookbook, I came across this one. I was all excited because I had forgotten all about this delicious little thing! I made it several times last summer (easy and refreshing), but I forgot about it until yesterday. I made it again, and the whole fam loved it.

The recipe came off the underside of a Kroger's pre-made graham cracker crust. They suggested using a can of cherry pie filling. My family, not being fans of pie fillings, put on loads of fresh strawberries. Also good with strawberries and kiwis.

Ingredients:

1 (9-inch) graham cracker crumb crust

1 (8-oz) pkg of cream cheese, softened

1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 C lemon juice

1 t vanilla extract

toppings of your choice

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Add sweetened condensed milk and blend thoroughly.

Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour into crust.

Chill two hours, or until set.

Top with toppings of your choice.

Marinated Cucumbers

Story:

You know how I said that in Utah, we would have neighborhood BBQs sometimes? Well Tiffany S. brought this cucumber salad one time, and loving cucumbers like I do, I had to get the recipe from her.

Ingredients:

2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/3 C cider vinegar

1/3 C water

2 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1/8 t pepper

chopped fresh dill weed or parsley, if desired

Directions:

Place cucumbers in a small bowl.

Shake the remaining ingredients (except dill weed) in a tightly covered container.

Pour over cucumbers.

Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours to blend flavors.

Drain marinade off of cucumbers.

Sprinkle with dill weed.

Wingers Salad

Story:

Lalalalala!! I am so happy! I have discovered a new (easy!) favorite salad. Everyone liked it, it was easy, and sooo yum. It tasted so good that I didn't even want to stop to take a picture!

Ok, so in Utah, there is a restaurant called Wingers. It, of course, is famous for its spicy wings. On my friend Amie's blog, I saw a copy cat recipe for the "hot sauce" that Wingers puts on their wings. (Click here for the post on Amie's "Sisters Always Simplifying" blog.)

My sister Suzanne and her family love Wingers, so I told her about it and she tried it out and reported that the sauce was fabulous on chicken breasts on a salad. My friend and neighbor Jessica W. said they tried it with chicken nuggets, and they said it was good... so here's my new favorite dinner/salad:

Ingredients:

lettuce and spinach, washed and cut for a salad

breaded chicken (however many for your family) (I buy the Tyson frozen ones from Costco)

Ranch dressing packet (Make according to the package directions, except use buttermilk instead of milk)

2 T water

3 T Frank's Hot Sauce

3/4 C brown sugar

Directions:

Prep the Ranch dressing. Refrigerate.

Bake nuggets according to package directions. After cooking, slice into little strips.

For the sauce: In a pot, bring water, Frank's hot sauce, and brown sugar to a boil (to melt the sugar), stirring occasionally.

Pour the hot sauce over the chicken nuggets and mix to coat. Note: I only put sauce on half the nuggets... the hot sauce was too spicy for the kids. But the kids loved the plain nuggets on the salad.

To serve: just put a bunch of lettuce/spinach on the plate, sprinkle on chicken nuggets (plain or spicy), then pour the buttermilk Ranch over the top.

Note:

I found that because the chicken was spicy, I ate a LOT of greens with the chicken to mellow out the spice. Hope you love it!!

Easy Waffles

Story:

This is nothing special, really. It's a basic waffle recipe out of my good ol' red and white checked Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Except that this is the doubled version. And I adjusted the flour to use about half whole wheat... The whole wheat just makes them that much heartier.

Ingredients:

2 C whole wheat flour

1 1/2 C white flour

2 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

4 eggs

3 1/2 c milk

1 C oil

Directions:

Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.

Then mix all together.

Then just cook 'em up in your waffle iron.

I like 'em with strawberries and whipped cream.

Or with bananas and syrup.

Or peanut butter and syrup.

(It's like dessert, really.)

When Ben makes them, sometimes he puts berries right into the batter.

Or, for the kids, he'll put in mini chocolate chips.

They love that!