Sugar Cookie Squares

Tweet

Just in time for Valentines Day....
If you have a sweetie, that loves sweets, then make these Sugar Cookie Squares for them (Or for yourself) ツ  They are much simpler than cut outs, and you don't have to frost them individually! How simple is that?
These cookies are like the ones you see in the store, you know the ones, there are about 8 round, colorful, frosted and sprinkled cookies in the little clear plastic container....and they cost about 4 bucks!  So, If you like those cookies, you will LOVE these!!  I found the recipe on Pinterest (of coarse) and you can find the link to the original site here

These are thick, soft and moist and will definitely satisfy any sweet tooth you may have..

I made a couple batches at Christmas and gave them out as gifts, needless to say, they were a hit!
I'll have pictures of those at the end of this post. 
So these cookie squares aren't just for holidays, they are perfect for any occasion, classroom treats or bake sales, baby showers, parties etc...

Here is what you need:

1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1 Egg white
1  Tbsp Sour Cream 
1 tsp Vanilla 
2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13" x 9" pan, set it aside.
In a  bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt, set it aside. 

In the bowl, whip together with a mixer, butter and sugar until fluffy about 3-4 minutes. 

Stir in egg and egg white. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until blended. 

Slowly add dry mixture and stir until well combine. 

With buttered hands, gently pat mixture into buttered 13x9 pan. 

Bake 17 - 20 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and edges are lightly golden.
Cool completely,
Frost. (Vanilla Frosting Following)

Vanilla Frosting:

Here is what you need:


1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2-3 Tbsp Half and Half
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
Sprinkles
desired amount Food Coloring 


In a  bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together butter and powdered sugar and half and half until fluffy. 

Stir in vanilla and salt. 

Once its well mixed, At this point, I spooned out about 2 Tablespoons of the white frosting and put it in a sandwich baggie (I don't have a frosting bag) to pipe the lines on.

Add desired amount of food coloring and mix until well blended. (I used about a 1/4 inch line of the gel food coloring)

I think these are to cute to eat!!  ♥ Just kidding ツ  Yum!
Enjoy your cookies...

Here are the ones I made for Christmas ( I know they aren't really Christmas colors, but what can I say.)

I just have to take a minute and brag on my husband... 
I needed a mixer, and things were tight at Christmas, so he bought me a cheap hand mixer from the dollar store to use. Well, the mixer kept falling over, and would not stand up!! Especially if there was something on the beaters Grrrr!
So, I complained  ¯\(°_o)/¯ Lol ...so he made me a stand out of pvc to hold my mixer. Thank You Honey!

He is so good!! 

♥║║
╚══╝

EASY Shepherd's Pie

Tweet
This was the first time I have made this dish, it was a request from my husband ♥ who's grandmother had made it when he was younger. So I did a little research and found a few recipes and went with my own version/taste. Chris remembers his grandmother's little different than my version or the versions I had seen online...she probably just made her own version and made more layers. :) In my search I found a lot of different versions. Some called for Worcestershire sauce and I'm going to try that next time. 

Shepherd's Pie was a dish made with Lamb or Mutton. BTW if you don't know what Mutton is, its a older Sheep (don't feel bad, I had to look it up lol) The origin was that shepherds were concerned with Sheep, not Cattle. American's usually use Beef and that version of the dish, is called "Cottage Pie" But I'll just call it Shepherd's Pie since most people know what that is... For those of you who don't, its a Meat Pie covered in a crust of Mashed Potatoes. And as I found out, So Very! Good!! and easy, and we like easy ;)

Here is what you need:

Depending on the size of casserole dish you use...

I used a 8 x 11.5 baking dish (to small!!)

Approximately 2 Lbs. of Ground Beef

1/2 Cup each of either fresh, frozen or canned Veggies that you prefer. I used frozen corn and canned peas and carrots that I froze the extra from a earlier recipe. 

4-5 Large Potatoes or Instant Potatoes. I used Instant because this is a easy version :) And I didn't have any Idaho Potatoes. You can use any potatoes that you prefer.

Jar or can of Gravy

1/2 cup of Sour Cream

1/8 Teaspoon of Onion Powder (or fresh 1/2 Cup chopped,and cooked with the beef)...My Hubby doesn't like Onions :)

Corn, Gravy, Sour Cream, Peas, Carrots

Mozzarella-Mild Cheddar mix

Use Fresh

Or use Instant

         
 
              Or use

Preheat oven to 400 degree's.

Cook the ground beef and drain.

In a bowl combine cooked Meat, Gravy, Sour Cream...fold in the veggies,until mixed well.

Spread the  Meat mixture in Casserole Dish

Add a layer of Cheese, then a layer of Potatoes

Put on middle rack in oven for about 30 min. until golden, hot and bubbly.
Next time I'm going to use a bigger, deeper pan because mine bubbled over :/

**Also a word of caution if you would like yours browned more on top, don't put a glass dish under the broiler! it will crack!! 
I'm going to use my 13x9 metal cake pan next time so I can brown mine more and so it won't bubble over.... hopefully ;)

YUM!

Chicken Enchilada

Tweet
I saw this recipe on Pinterest from Joyful Momma's Kitchen  except I changed it up a bit for our taste... I omitted the green chillies and added some Re-fried Black Beans.. 
Well It seems to be a hit in my house, they loved them!! I made 8 Enchilada's, I had 1, there was 3 of us eating, and 2 were left, you do the math lol (reminds me of those stupid math questions when I was in grade school..I hated those!)
They are very filling, and not that hard to make. It always takes me a little bit longer when I make something new, but once I know all the steps, it seems to go much quicker! I think it took about a half hour to prep these, so not to bad... 

What you will need:
3-4 Boneless Chicken Breasts, Shredded (about 2 Cups)
2 cups of Chicken Broth
Soft Taco Shells (I used 8, because that how many came in the pack)
2 cups of Fiesta Blend Cheese (Blend of Monteray Jack, Cheddar, Queso  Quesadilla & Asadero Cheese)
1 can Black Beans or Re-Fried Black Beans
1 cup Sour Cream
3 Tbls. Flour
3 Tbls. Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 pan (I used cooking spray) 
Mix the shredded chicken and 1 cup of cheese in a container, load up a tortilla's with  the chicken cheese mixture, add some of the re-fried Black Beans so it looks something like this..

Roll the tortilla's up and place in pan (I really had to squeeze them in!)

In a saucepan melt the butter,and slowly add the flour..add the Chicken Broth and stir with a whisk, continue to whisk over medium heat until thickened to your liking. Add the Sour Cream, stir till well blended making sure not to curdle the sour cream! Pour sauce over the Enchilada's and top with the remaining cheese. 
Bake for 22 min. and  then place under broiler for the last 3 minutes, until cheese has browned on top a little.  Yum!

Pin It