Adventures in Married Life

Ingredients:

1 (12-ounce bag) or 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 small (approximately 2 tablespoons) jalapeno chile peppers, cored, seeded, and minced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 tablespoons finely-grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
Cranberries and/or cilantro sprigs for garnish

Preparation:

Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, (discarding all that are soft or bruised).

Place the cranberries in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped but not mushy.

Place chopped cranberries in a bowl; mix together with onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger, and lemon juice.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors develop (salsa will be too sharp and tart to begin with).

On a serving plate, place cream cheese; cover with the dip. Garnish, if desired, and served with crackers.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar, divided
2 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually add 2/3 cup white sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolks, one at a time (keep the egg whites for later), beating well after each addition. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape dough into a ball; cover and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes or until firm.

On a surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar, roll half of the dough to 1/8-in. thickness (I made some of my 1/4 in for extra thick cookies). Note: When the dough first comes out of the fridge it might seem a bit hard and crumbly when you roll it. Don’t freak out like I did!!! It will become less crumbly as you work with it.

Cut with a cookie cutter of your choice.

Repeat with remaining dough, then place hole in center of each piece. (I used a vintage butter pat maker.)

Beat egg whites until frothy.

Brush each cookie (even the ones with the holes) with egg white.

Combine almonds and remaining sugar. Sprinkle all cookies with the almond mixture.

Place on greased baking sheets (I put mine on Silpat). Bake at 350 degrees F for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Spread raspberry preserves over the middle of the plain side of solid cookies. Don’t go all the way to the edges or the jam will ooze out the sides. (This happened to me on the first few, but I gladly devoured the evidence.)

Sprinkle icing sugar on cookies with centers cut out. I used a sifter.

Place cookies with centers cut out, almond side up, on top of the preserves, making a sandwich.

Enjoy your gorgeous Raspberry Linzer cookies! (Don’t forget to save some for the holidays!)

Ingredients 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1¼ cup sugar 

1 egg 

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

½ teaspoon almond extract 

3 cups of flour 

1½ teaspoons baking powder 

¼ teaspoon salt 

colored sugars for decorating 

Instructions 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife to ensure accurate measurements. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment or wax paper and place on a baking sheet in the refrigerator. 

Chill for about 20-30 minutes. Cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to a baking sheet. Sprinkle with colored sugars and bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 40-50 cookies.

INGREDIENTS

1 package (12 oz.) tri-color rotini pasta
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package (1 oz.) dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup milk
8 slices cooked bacon, chopped)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 can (4.25 oz.) sliced black olives, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add rotini pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain water. Rinse pasta with cold water to cool. Set aside.In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, dry ranch mix, garlic powder and milk. Add pasta, cooked bacon pieces, tomato, olives and cheese to the bowl. Gently toss to combine everything.Cover and chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving.

photo credit and recipe from here

INGREDIENTS

1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon dried minced onion,  pepper and salt, to taste
5 large flour tortillas
shredded Cheddar cheese
mustard
tomato slices
lettuce

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain any grease. Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, minced onion and salt and pepper to beef. Stir to combine.Reduce heat to low and let mixture heat thoroughly, about 5 minutes or so.Sprinkle some cheddar cheese down the center of each tortilla. Add a few heaping Tablespoons of the beef mixture on top of cheese. Drizzle a little mustard (and more ketchup, if desired) on top of the beef, and then add a couple tomato slices. Roll up each tortilla burrito-style.Place wraps, a couple at a time, onto a preheated indoor grill and grill for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Carefully remove wraps from grill and place on a plate. Gently unravel wrap to add some lettuce. Re-roll wrap and then cut in center diagonally. Serve immediately and enjoy!

recipe credits here

All the delicious flavors of beef enchiladas rolled up in lasagna noodles!

INGREDIENTS

8 lasagna noodles
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (1 oz.) packet taco seasoning mix
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (10 oz.) can mild red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

TOPPINGS

sour cream
salsa
diced tomato
guacamole
sliced olives

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350° F. Boil lasagna noodles in a large pot of water, until al dente, according to package directions. Drain water, then lay noodles out flat onto parchment paper.Meanwhile, cook and brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning (and water it calls for on packet). Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat.Pour half the can of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.Spread 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese down the center of each lasagna noodle. Top cream cheese with a few Tablespoons of meat mixture and a little cheddar cheese. Roll up tight. Repeat with all noodles, cheese and meat mixture.Place lasagna rolls in the prepared baking dish. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tops and then sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheddar cheese.Bake rolls, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with all your favorite toppings!

POPCORN BALLS

Ingredients:

Directions: