Snowman Cookies

This is more of a tutorial than a recipe. I saw this in an ad in a magazine and thought it was such a cute idea.

Ingredients
1 package of Nutter Butter cookies
1 package of almond bark coating

Melt almond bark in microwave (follow package instructions). Coat cookies in candy coating and lay on parchment paper to dry. Decorate as desired.

Christmas Cookies

This recipe was given to me a couple of years ago by a friend and it is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever found. The cookies are soft and the icing is very tasty....not the hard sugar cookies your grandma made.

Cookie Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder

Mix first 6 ingredients together until well blended. Add flour and baking powder and mix. Roll dough out on floured surface and roll to about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters for desired shapes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Frosting Ingredients
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 squares almond bark, melted
2 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients until desired consistency. Add milk if frosting is too thick.

Easy Chicken & Dumplings

I call this "easy" because I don't make my own dumplings...I use canned biscuits. I also use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken because I always have those on hand. It's such a great meal for a cold day.

Ingredients
2 - 3 chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
3 - 4 tablespoons butter
1 container of chicken broth
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
1 large can biscuits (I use Grands by Pillsbury)
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions, carrots and celery in butter until tender. Add broth, bouillon cubes, bay leaf and bring to a boil. Add chicken and cook until tender. Once chicken is cooked, remove from broth and shred. Add chicken back to broth and simmer. Pinch off pieces of biscuit dough and stir. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until dough pieces are cooked through.

Cranberry Walnut Pie

My cousin Gretchen made this pie for Thanksgiving last year and I had to have the recipe. I have made it a couple of times since then, and it is always a hit. It has a perfect combination of tart and sweet....in my opinion.

Dry Ingredients
1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust
2 heaping cups Fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients
1 large egg
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter (6 Tablespoons)
3 TBSP all purpose flour

Directions
Unfold and place pie crust in pie plate, fold edges under and crimp.
Stir together dry ingredients and pour into pie crust.
Whisk wet ingredients in a bowl and pour over dry ingredients. (Mixture will be thick)

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes.

White Chicken Enchiladas

This is my version of Pioneer Woman's white chicken enchiladas. I used fresh roasted Hatch chiles that my local HEB has every year and they were fantastic! I don't dip my tortillas in oil like she does for various reasons, but found that if you just heat the corn tortillas, they bend easier. This recipe is great with flour tortillas as well.

Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken
12 whole Corn Tortillas
1 Onion, Diced
3 4 Oz Cans Diced Green Chilies(or diced fresh roasted Hatch chiles)
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 cups Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
2.5 cups Monterrey Jack Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper, to taste
2 Avocados, sliced
Cilantro, chopped


Saute onions in olive oil until they become tender. Add chicken and half of the chiles along with 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chiles. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if and then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and cover with sliced avocados.

Apple Pie

Who doesn't like apple pie? I use a variety of apples to give it a really great flavor. Use a variety of ones labeled for baking. I guesstimated on the amount of apples, but you need about 4 lbs of apples in total if you want it to be pretty and high!

Ingredients
4 Granny Smith Apples
3 Jonagold Apples
2 Honey Crisp Apples
2 refrigerated pie crusts (2 come in a box)
1/2 cup, granulated sugar
1/4 cup, light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon, cinnamon
1/4 cup flour
1 dash, nutmeg
Juice of 1 lemon
1 egg

Peel and core apples and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Mix apples, lemon juice, sugar, spices and flour until well combined. Place one of the pie crusts in bottom of pan and cover with apple mixture. I pile as many as I can and then cover with remaining pie crust. Cut slits in top to vent and brush with lightly beaten egg. Sprinkle with some sugar and cinnamon and follow baking instructions on pie crust box.

Tomato Salad

This is a staple in our house. It's a great complement to our Sunday night steaks. Measurements are estimated....as usual. Feel free to change up the tomato to cheese ratio as you please.

Ingredients
5 or 6 ripe tomatoes, diced in bite size pieces
1 "ball" of soft mozzarella cheese, diced in bite size pieces
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Mix all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Tastes best after it sits in the fridge a while.