mortiz049

I used to have marathon cookie baking sessions with my friend Matt.  He made a great molasses cookie and he was kind enough to share his recipe with me.  It's chewy, spicy, and always comes out great.  I know some people will sub out the shortening for butter but to get the best texture shortening is the way to go. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups shortening melted 2 cups white sugar 1/2 cup molasses 2 eggs 4 cups flour 4 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp salt Mix together dry ingredients Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time then add the molasses.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Dough will be stiff.  Scoop with a cookie scoop or portion out dough into walnut size balls.  Roll dough in you hands to form smooth balls.  Roll balls in sugar, place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Press the dough balls with the bottom of a glass to flatten slightly.  Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minu...

Pecan sandies are one of those cookies you make to impress.  They are the gem of a cookie platter and the talk of the cookie exchange.  I don't know if its the buttery crumbly cookie or the big fat pecan crowning the buttery crumbly cookie.  Either way, they are a delicious addition to Cookie Week! Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) dairy free margarine (Earth Balance) feel free to use butter if you are able 1 cup canola oil 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup powdered sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 4 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp salt 2 cups chopped pecans plus pretty pecan halves for the top of each cookie if desired Mix the dry ingredients Cream the margarine, oil and the three sugars until a smooth batter Add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla Spoon the dry ingredient and mix just until incorporated.   Stir in the chopped nuts Chill dough for about an hour then scoop and bake OR Scoop the dough then chill 20 minutes then bake OR Scoop the...

This cookie is a delicious combination of a chewy oatmeal cookie and a sweet peanut-y peanut butter cookie. This is another great recipe to make ahead and freeze. 1 ½ cup flour 2 teaspoon baking soda 1 ½ cup quick cooking oats or rolled oats that have been very lightly pulsed in a food processor 2 sticks ( 1 cup) dairy free margarine or butter ( add ½ tsp salt if using unsalted butter) 1 cup packed dark brown sugar ½ cup white granulated sugar 1 cup conventional creamy peanut butter (if using natural peanut butter you may want to bump up the sugar and salt) 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Mix dry ingredients. Cream together margarine, brown sugar and white sugar. Add peanut butter and beat again until fluffy and lightened in color. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporate each egg fully after each addition. Spoon in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scoop onto an ungreased cookie sheet leaving 1 ½ inches between each cookie. Bake at 350 F for 12-14 minutes until ...

Breakfast burritos are great on the go.  You can prepare a bunch in advance and keep them in the freezer for a quick and easy breakfast. Ingredients: 12 eggs beaten 1/2 pound of bacon 2 cups of 1/4" diced potatoes 1 cup of finely chopped onions salt and pepper to taste 8 fajita sized tortilla.  I use Chi Chi whole wheat tortilla because they don't become brittle after freezing and reheating. Fry the bacon until crisp and drain away most of the fat. Fry the potatoes for about 10 minutes until cooked through and browned. Add the onion and cook another 1-2 minutes until they are softened. Add the eggs and stir continuously until the eggs are set. Cool the egg mixture. Assemble the burritos using 1/2 cup of the filling in each tortilla. Wrap the burrito in foil, label and freeze To reheat: place the foil wrapped burrito in the oven or toaster oven at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes or remove the foil and microwave on high for 2 minutes, turn over and cook another 2 minutes. Ser...

Today I have another easy recipe which also freezes beautifully: Sloppy Joes.  My family does cheat a little on the sloppy, we eat our with a fork and knife... and a napkin. This recipe is a great one to have in the freezer.  Its not hard to make, but letting it simmer for at least 30 minutes is the key to the most delicious sloppy joes.  If you'd rather use that 30 minutes doing something else on a busy weeknight, then make a big batch ahead of time and freeze individual or family size portions.  Then when dinner time rolls around, just heat and eat!   Classic Sloppy Joes  4 servings 1 pound ground beef 1 green bell pepper chopped 1 medium onion chopped 1/2 cup ketchup 1 TBSP yellow mustard 1 tsp sriracha sauce Salt and pepper to taste Hamburger buns or sliced bread, toasted

Honey glazed tarragon chicken is a great meal to have stocked in your freezer for a quick and easy meal.  In just about the time it takes to warm through, dinner is ready.  You can serve this chicken and gravy over rice or noodles or for an even quicker and easier meal, over toasted bread for a hot open face sandwich.  Add a side vegetable (you always have frozen veggies on hand, right?) and dinner is served! Honey Glazed Tarragon Chicken The recipe below makes 4 servings but its easy to make up a big batch for the freezer. 1 pound bone-in chicken breast, skin removed 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves or 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon 1 tsp chicken base or 1 chicken bullion cube 1/4 cup honey 3 tbsp flour 1 cup water Salt and pepper to taste Season the chicken with salt, pepper and tarragon and cook the chicken until done.  You can bake the chicken in a covered baking dish or you can use a pressure cooker.  Follow all the manufacturers directions when using a pressure ...

I love dirty rice. It's a true comfort food. Warm and spicy, perfect on these cold winter days. When you have the time, there is nothing better than a simmering pot on the stove filling your house with the delicious aroma.  Make a double or triple batch and freeze it for when time is short. You can freeze this once its completely finished for a heat & eat meal or stop just before adding the rice. Then you when you are ready to eat just add the rice and a cup of water to the prepared base and simmer until the rice is done. This is the kind of recipe that works great for batch cooking.  The peppers, onion and celery give this dish a rich flavor but it takes some time to chop all those vegetables. You can chop the vegetables for three batches in just about the same amount of time as for one batch. The simmering takes some times too. So you might as well simmer 3 batches all at once. In the end you have dinner for tonight and 2 in the freezer for later. Ingredients (4...

Are you looking for a great tomato soup recipe?  This rich and creamy tomato butternut squash soup really hits the spot!  Make a large batch and stock up your freezer. Ingredients:  1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed 2 (28 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes 1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock ** 2 fresh sage leaves or 1/2 tsp dried sage Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and simmer 25-30 minutes until the squash is tender.  Puree with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth.  Serve with garlic bread. **Store bought chicken stocks and broths often have dairy ingredients.  Use homemade stock or check the label carefully.

Food in the freezer is an investment.  You put the time, effort and money into making your freezer meals and you want to protect that investment.  Some things are perfectly fine stored in reused yogurt containers but other things do best in freezer bags or vacuum sealed bags.  Lets look as all the ways you can store your freezer cooking  No Container Storing food in the freezer without any wrapping or container not recommended.  Foods can dry out, absorb odors and become freezer burnt.  Flash freezing can be done without any covering but you will want to be sure to transfer the food to an appropriate container as soon as its becomes firm.  You can flash freeze by placing the food on a silicone mat lined cookie sheet or in ice cube trays. Freezer Paper, Aluminum foil Freezer paper or aluminum foil usually won't provide much protection but they work well when you want to individually wrap items or keep items separated.  A small square of freezer pap...

Freezer cooking is an umbrella term to mean any meal prep done ahead of time and frozen.  There are different ways to freezer cook and there are pro and cons of each.  Let's look closer at each style to see which might be the best fit for you. Once A Month Cooking Once a month cooking (OAMC) is preparing or mostly preparing an entire months worth of meals in one day.  The cooking day is usually very long, must be thoroughly organized and works best if you have helpers.  Most OAMC recipes are not actually cooked on cooking day but prepared and portioned out for quick cooking when they are needed. Batch Cooking Batch cooking is when you make a double, triple or even quadruple batch of a recipe.  This can be a large scale or small scale process.  Making a big pot of soup and freezing portions is an excellent way to ease into freezer cooking.   Bulk Cooking Bulk cooking is when you make large portions of meal components.  Roast several chickens and us...

It goes by many different names; bulk cooking, batch cooking, once a month cooking (OAMC), or freezer cooking. They have slight variations but the basic concept is doing meal prep ahead of time to make dinner time less hectic. Freezer cooking has helped me during so many stages of my life. I have dietary restrictions which makes it hard to eat at restaurants, or use convenience foods or prepared foods. I have to read every ingredient, grill the wait staff, and hope there was no cross contamination. I only truly feel comfortable eating food I have prepared myself. Good thing for me, I love to cook! Like everyone else, my life gets busy and setting aside an hour each evening to prepare a wholesome meal can be hard. Freezer cooking helped when I was single and cooking for one, when I was in school and limited by the options in the cafeteria, when I was working 12 hour days, and when I had a baby. I have learned a lot over the years and I want to share my knowledge with you. Befor...