If You Could Have Only One

I saw this question on The Newlywed Game - not something I usually watch, but my husband turned it on.  They asked the husbands if their wives could have only one food and one drink for the rest of their lives, what would they choose.  It took me a little bit to figure out for myself what my choices would be - imagine trying to figure out someone else's choices!  Of course, my husband is pretty good, because once I figured it out for myself, I asked him - and he got it exactly right!  Now, if I had to guess what he'd choose, I don't think I'd do a very good job.

Anyway, the whole question got me thinking, so I thought I'd ask:

I'll leave this open for a while and then publish the results, so please play along.  It will be fun!  And I'll tell you what I would choose, too.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

I hadn't made these in ages, but I recently saw them on someone's blog, and decided it was time. Then I went looking for recipes.  I could not believe how many recipes for Peanut Butter Blossoms are out there!  I ended up choosing the one from the Hershey's website - since they're Hershey's Kisses on top, after all.  Also, I liked that the recipe used more peanut butter and less sugar than some of the other ones.  I ended up sort of combining the recipe with the one in my cookbook - by using a little more flour to make the cookies easier to roll out and baking at a slightly lower temperature.  Oh, and I used Dark Chocolate Hershey's Kisses, because that's what I had.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening (margarine)
• 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar
• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES (or so)

Directions:

1. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and bottoms are lightly browned. While cookies are baking, remove wrappers from chocolates.  
4. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie as soon as you pull them from the oven; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

I got about 55 cookies.  The original recipe has you unwrap all the Kisses at the beginning, but I unwrapped them as I put the cookies in the oven, so I had the right number of Kisses for the cookies I had.  And I only ate one or two...

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Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

I grabbed this recipe originally because all I could think when I saw it was, "I have got to try this!"  And yes, I did try it.  It is just as good as it sounds!

Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

by Sheila Lukins and Laurie Griffith
published: 02/17/2010

Try this spicy twist on a comfort classic.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp chopped green jalapeño
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked corn
• 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño; cook for 2 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high; add beef and brown for 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste and spices; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; simmer until liquid reduces, 15 minutes. Add corn, beans, and 4 Tbsp cilantro. Spoon into a 9x9-inch baking dish.
3. Place sweet potatoes in a saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain; mash with butter and milk. Spread mash over the meat mixture. Bake in a 400°F oven until brown, 30 minutes. Garnish with more cilantro.

Serves 4. Per serving: 460 calories, 49g carbs, 29g protein, 80mg cholesterol, and 19g fat. 

from Parade

all I need is some cilantro...

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Hearty Skillet Meal

Dinner tonight. The original recipe came out of my favorite cookbook, The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals. I adjusted it slightly.

Hearty Skillet Meal

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup coarsely shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Saute ground beef and onion until beef is browned.  Drain excess fat.  
2. Stir in cabbage and rice and cook for a couple minutes.  Stir in carrots, potatoes, and garlic salt.  Add water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, 40 minutes.
3. Immediately before serving, stir in soy sauce, salt and pepper.

The original recipe called for 1 lb. of ground beef instead of the 1/2 lb. I used, but 1/2 lb. is what I had because I used to other half in the meatballs I made today.  Cabbage was not in the original recipe, but I thought it sounded good, so I added it.  I didn't actually measure it, just cut some up and tossed it in, so I'm guessing on the 1 cup, and I wasn't real strict on measuring the carrots and potatoes, either.  With this kind of recipe, it doesn't really matter.  Also, I increased the water called for in the original recipe, from 1-1/2 cups to 2 cups, and that seemed perfect.

This has a really nice flavor, and it's really easy to make.  We had some green beans and some sourdough bread along with it.  I would've taken a picture, but it's not all that exciting to look at - just good to eat.

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French Toast Casserole

I've tried a couple recipes for French Toast Casserole in the past, but never been too impressed. I got this one from my friend Nancy, and I got to taste hers before trying it myself, so I knew this one would be good.

French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 14 slices bread, cubed (I used sourdough bread I baked last week)
• 8 oz. cream cheese cubed
• 2 Tbsp sugar   
• 1  tsp cinnamon
• 1  dozen eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup syrup

Directions:

1. Spray 9x13 pan; line with ½ the bread.  
2. Drop cream cheese over bread, mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half of it over cream cheese and bread.  Layer the rest of the bread and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over it.
3. In separate bowl mix eggs, milk and syrup and beat well.  Pour over bread. 
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. Half an hour before baking, remove from the refrigerator.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes; keep covered the first 40 min and uncover for the last 10 min.  If it seems dry add more syrup.
6. Serve with syrup and fruit of  your choice.

We had this for breakfast/brunch this morning, and it was so good!  I ended up baking it for an additional 10 minutes, because the egg mixture didn't seem to be done after the 50 minutes, so just judge it for yourself.  It definitely didn't seem too dry, and I didn't need to add more syrup. Then I let it sit for 5 minutes after it came out of the oven to set up.  The picture is what was left after Jeffrey, Cory and I finished eating - enough left for a couple of us to have tomorrow maybe.

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