Snickerdoodles

I have been making these cookies since I was in the 5th grade. Yep, the 5th grade. In my 7th grade English class we had to demonstrate something to the class. I demonstrated how to make snickerdoodles. They're my go-to cookie. They're a wee bit labor intensive, but they're not hard. They're easier if you have a standing mixer, but I made them for years with an electric mixer and a sturdy wooden spoon. This recipe came out of a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook that my mom had, but I've never seen the same recipe anywhere else, even in newer Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks. So, this might be the only place you can get this recipe for snickerdoodles. I hope you like them!

Snickerdoodles

3 3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 c. butter, softened (DO NOT microwave! Be patient and let it soften on the counter!)

2 c. + 2 Tbs. sugar, divided

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside. In large bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add 2 c. sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture. If you have a standing mixer, this is where it really comes in handy. If you just have a handheld mixer, don't use it to mix the flour mixture in! Put it down, get out a trusty wooden spoon, and give your arm a good workout. Mix until all the flour mixture is incorporated and a dough forms. In small bowl, mix 2 Tbs. sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. (This is the labor intensive part, it takes awhile to roll all that dough into little balls.) Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake 8-10 minutes (my oven usually takes 11) or until edges just barely start to turn golden. Just barely! Don't overdo it. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Avocado Deviled Eggs

I am not a big fan of eggs. I don't mind the occasional scrambled egg, particularly if it has bacon and potatoes in it, but that's where my tolerance of eggs ends. Like a lot of things, I'm trying to acquire a taste for eggs, as they are easy to fix and a great source of protein. Last night I decided to dye Easter eggs with Bonnie Mae at the last minute. She had fun and the Easter Bunny hid them while she was sleeping so she could hunt for them this morning. And then I had a dozen eggs staring at me, saying, "Please don't let us go to waste!" (Being less wasteful is something else I'm working on.)

Since we were having a hot dog roast at my in-laws today, I decided at the last minute to try to make deviled eggs. It was the eggs' only chance at getting eaten. I vaguely remembered seeing some jazzed up deviled egg recipes in magazine and on Pinterest. I'd never really paid attention to them, of course, since I never planned to make such a thing. I thought that maybe if I tried something fun that included a flavor other than egg yolk, maybe I could talk myself into trying a deviled egg. The first recipe I pulled up on Pinterest was for avocado deviled eggs. Since you use avocado in place of most of the mayonnaise, it seemed like a great one to try.

Amazingly enough, I didn't hate them! I actually ate one whole egg! That being said, I'm not entirely satisfied with the results, but that's not the recipe's fault. When I was making them the internet at my in-laws house wouldn't work, so I made the recipe from memory. They were a little bland to me, but that's probably because I didn't remember the pepper or the ground mustard. I wanted to share the recipe because like I said, I think it's so great that avocado takes the place of most of the mayonnaise. I know avocado is still fattening, but it's got to be a healthier alternative, right?

Next time I think I will use a little Miracle Whip Light in place of the mayonnaise and add a couple pieces of cooked and crumbled bacon. I suppose you could use turkey bacon if you wanted, but I'm pretty sure whoever decided that turkey bacon would make a good substitute for pork bacon had never actually tasted bacon before. Hello! Turkey bacon tastes nothing like regular bacon. Period. Anyway, maybe you can play with the recipe a little too and come up with something super duper delicious! Or you know, just make the recipe with the pepper and ground mustard like you're supposed to. I bet that will work fabulously too.

Oh yeah, about my picture...my eggs are not pretty. All the pins on Pinterest were of these gorgeous eggs that had filling piped back into them in pretty designs. I thought about whipping out a pastry bag, but then I decided that was silly. Who really does that? Not me! And since I want this blog to be about things that are EASY to do, piping filling into perfect little egg cups doesn't really seem to fit. 

Avocado Deviled Eggs 

from Mother Thyme

6 peeled hard boiled eggs

1 ripe avocado peeled and pit removed

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbs. mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. freshly chopped parsley

1/8 tsp. ground mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Halve eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and set whites aside. In small bowl, combine yolks with the rest of the ingredients. Mash together until smooth. I used a potato masher but I bet a fork would work great too. Spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites. Sprinkle with more parsley if desired. I doubled the recipe to use a dozen eggs.

Bird Nests

Many years ago, my aunt brought little bird nests made out of chow mein noodles to our Easter picnic. A few years later when I asked her about them, she couldn't remember making them. Go figure, right? A couple months ago it occurred to me that someone probably put the recipe for them on their blog! I was right! I don't know if it's the same recipe as my aunt's because to be honest I really don't remember what they tasted like, I just remember that I liked them. Aren't they cute? I can't wait to eat one, but I'm saving them for our picnic tomorrow!

Bird Nests

adapted from The Curvy Carrot

6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

6 oz. butterscotch chips

1 c. peanut butter

1 1/2 (5 oz.) cans chow mein noodles

candy eggs (I used Cadbury ones)

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. In medium bowl, combine chips and peanut butter. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring between each one, until smooth (mine took 1 1/2 minutes). Add chow mein noodles and fold in gently until evenly coated.  Divide evenly among muffin tins. You might have to use your fingers to create a little indentation in each one to hold the eggs. Refrigerate until set. Use a butter knife to loosen each nest from its tin. Place a few candy eggs in each nest. Ta-da! Adorable!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It's easy, everyone loves it, I almost always have all the ingredients on hand, and it freezes well. I buy all the canned ingredients by the case whenever there's a case lot sale, and I always have chicken in the freezer, so it's super easy to throw together in the morning. And if you buy everything on sale like I do, it's cheap too!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

adapted from allrecipes.com

1 can black beans

1 can chili beans

1 can corn, drained

1 can diced tomatoes

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 can chicken broth

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles (or 1/2 c. of the BB chiles you roasted and froze)

1 packet taco seasoning (or 2 Tbs. of this)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (you can even throw them in frozen)

 Optional garnishes: shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream

Mix together black beans, chili beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, green chiles, and taco seasoning in slow cooker. Add chicken and press into mixture until completely covered. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Before serving, remove chicken, shred, and return to slow cooker. If desired, garnish with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Slow Cooker Funeral Potatoes

I love funeral potatoes. For those of you who aren't from Utah, funeral potatoes are basically scalloped potatoes with a corn flake topping. They're commonly served at funeral luncheons, hence the name. I'd never actually made my own funeral potatoes, but when I saw this recipe I had to try it. Technically it's a recipe for scalloped potatoes, and the original recipe called for cream of potato soup. I thought, "Hey! I can use cream of chicken soup and it will be just like funeral potatoes!" So that's what I did. Granted, they don't have the corn flake topping, but I don't really miss it. What I really like is that you can throw these in a few hours before dinner, then you don't have to worry about cooking a side dish and your main dish at the same time.

Slow Cooker Funeral Potatoes

adapted from kraftrecipes.com

1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 c. sour cream (fat free works just fine)

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 6 medium ones)

1 1/2 c. shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

1/2 tsp. paprika

3 Tbs. chopped chives (which I omitted)

In large bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce. Add potatoes and stir until coated. Add 1/3 of potatoes to slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray. Add 1/2 the cheese. Then add half of remaining potatoes, all of remaining cheese, and top with all remaining potatoes. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2-4 1/2 hours. In my experience, 3 1/2 hours is plenty of time but your slow cooker may be different. Stir well and sprinkle with paprika and chives, if desired.

Meatloaf For People Who Don't Like Meatloaf

Meatloaf strikes fear into the hearts of many people. I think a lot of people have had really nasty meatloaf over the years, and it's turned meatloaf into something scary in our collective consciousness. As a general rule, I don't care for meatloaf. I think baked ketchup is disgusting and most meatloaves are chock full of onions, something that no matter how hard I try, I still dislike, especially in large amounts. But this meatloaf is different. My Grandma Elaine gave the recipe to my mom years ago, and we've been enjoying it ever since. Over the years I've shared the recipe with several other people who said they didn't like meatloaf (my husband included), but changed their minds after trying this recipe, hence the name!

If you do try this recipe and decide you like it enough to make it again in the future, I suggest investing in a 2-piece meatloaf pan. The smaller pan has little holes on the bottom of it so as your meatloaf bakes, the fat from the ground beef drips down into the larger pan. I bought mine at Wal-Mart a few years ago. I think I paid $10 but I really can't remember. It's especially nice if, like me, you slaughter your own beef and end up with ground beef with a higher fat content. (Okay, technically I don't even have cows, much less slaughter my own beef, but my in-laws have cows and every year I end up with a freezer full of ground beef.) The point is if you just use a normal loaf pan, sometimes your meatloaf ends up swimming in fat and it's just kind of gross.

Meatloaf For People Who Don't Like Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 c. soft bread crumbs (2 slices of bread broken into itty bitty pieces)

1/4 c. grated carrots (about 1 carrot)

1/2 c. milk

1 egg

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Sauce:

1/2 c. ketchup

4 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. honey

2 Tbs. mustard

In medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, carrots, milk, egg, salt, and pepper. Add ground beef and mix thoroughly (you can do it with a fork, but I recommend digging in with your bare hands). Press into 9x5" loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour 1/2 to 2/3 of sauce on meatloaf and bake at 375 degrees for one hour. Serve with remaining sauce.

Homemade Fabric Softener

I know a lot of people don't bother to use fabric softener, but I've always loved it. I think it makes a definite difference in how my clothes feel. Last week I made my own laundry soap with great success. I figured if that worked so well, maybe I could make my own fabric softener too. There are lots of recipes out there. I picked the simplest one I could find: vinegar and essential oil. To be honest I can't remember where I found it, so there won't be a link back to the original site.

I've only used it on a few loads so far, but for the cost, I'm very happy with the results. My clothes don't smell as strongly as I'd like, but strong fragrances irritate both my husband's and my daughter's skin, so I guess that's not a bad thing. Everything seems to come out soft. I've also read a lot of things about vinegar lately that say it gets rid of residues and smells on clothing, so I figure it most certainly can't hurt to use it!

Homemade Fabric Softener

1 gallon white vinegar

20 drops essential oil (I used lavender, but I think you could use whatever you want, like a citrus oil or tea tree oil)

Add essential oil to vinegar and shake to combine. Add 1/2 c. to rinse cycle. My fabric softener dispenser happens to measure 1/2 c. exactly, so I just add it to the dispenser. Shake before each use, as oil and vinegar will separate.