My Man Cookies

Here is a recipe for all you coconut/oatmeal lovers. Actually, I found that people who tell me they don't like coconut are the ones who are asking for the recipe first. The story of how my family actually acquired this recipe is cute so I wanted to share it with you. My family ran a small grocery/deli in our town. One of the services we offered was delivering groceries to homes. You have to remember, I'm going back 45 plus years ago. Customers would call their grocery order into the store and my grandfather, father and brother would take turns making the deliveries to their home. Well, one day Mrs. Tate, one of our good customers, called in an order and my brother headed over to her house to make the delivery. Upon arriving, he was greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies. Mrs. Tate insisted he try some cookies and before he left she gave him some to share with the rest of us. Of course, we all loved them and my mom called her right away to get the recipe. So not only are these cookies delicious and easy to make, but it brings back fond memories every time I make them. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream Together:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  

Stir in:

• 2 cups flour
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup shredded coconut
  
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
  
• 2 cups oatmeal (I used quick cooking or 1 minute oats)
  

Using a small ice cream scoop, drop dough onto a cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Lemon Delight

This recipe has been around a long time. You make it in stages so it sounds like alot of work, but really it isn't. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can change the pudding to whatever you like best. I like to use pistachio pudding around Christmas or St. Patrick's day because of the green color. Chocolate pudding is, of course, my favorite. Also, if you don't like cool whip topping you can use homemade whipped cream. I tried using homemade whipped cream when I made this lemon delight recently and it was outstanding. My concern was that the homemade whipped cream would separate over time, but thanks to a neighbor's idea I was able to stiffen up the whipped topping so that it would stay together(see hint below). The lemon delight is really delightful and you will find yourself saying, can I have a second piece please!

Ingredients for crust: Mix together by hand

• 2 sticks of butter, softened
  
• 2 cups flour
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  

Spread above mixed ingredients in a 9x13 glass dish, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until light brown. Set aside.

Ingredients for filling: Beat together with mixer

• 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
  
• 1 cup confectionary sugar
  
• 1/2 of 9 ounce carton cool whip
  

Spread over cooled crust and chill for 1/2 hour.

Hint: If using homemade whipped cream, measure out or eyeball 4 1/2 cups of whipped cream (do not use stiffening technique below for cream cheese layer).

Then, beat with mixer below ingredients 3 to 5 minutes or until pudding sets up:

• 2 packages lemon instant pudding
  
• 3 cups cold whole milk
  

Spread pudding over cream cheese mixture and chill for 1/2 hour.

Top with remaining cool whip and decorate with chopped walnuts, if desired.

Chill. This is best if made the night before so that the dessert can set up well.

Hint: The rule of thumb for stiffening up homemade whipped cream is for a cup of whipped cream, you will need to mix 1 tablespoon of water to 1 teaspoon of knox gelatin.
I had to experiment because I had never done this before, so this is what I ended up doing: I started with boiling a few cups of water in a teapot. While water was boiling I started beating with mixer the whipped cream recipe(use your favorite whipped cream recipe). Before it was blended completely, I stopped and set it aside. Because I didn't know exactly how much of the water and knox geletin I would need to add to the whipping cream, I measured out 4 tablespoons of water into a glass measuring cup and then added 4 teaspoons of knox gelatin and blend well. Make sure to let the water/geletin mixture cool because you don't want it hot when it goes into the whipping cream mixture.
Then I went back to the whipping cream and starting beating again and at the same time, I started pouring in slowly the water/gelatin mix. You don't need a lot, you will see it stiffening up as you are beating everything together. Again, you will have to experiment.

Spinach and Beef Pasta Salad

On the way home from work one night I was trying to think what I could make for dinner (you can all admit that you have been there too). I didn't feel like stopping at the supermarket to get something to make, so I was trying to figure out what I could put together using what I had in the fridge. That is when I remembered a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe that I had tried once before called "Penne with Beef and Arugula". I ended up following Giada's recipe, except I used leftover ribeye steak we had grilled a couple of nights before, substitued ziti pasta because I didn't have penne pasta in the pantry and was able to use up some fresh spinach that my husband brought home from the farmers market in place of the arugula. I ended up also adding some cherry tomatoes and a little red onion. Because the steak had already been cooked I couldn't add the herbes de Provence, didn't have any parsley in the house and left out the reserved the pasta water per the recipe. It came out really well, plus I got to use up things in the fridge. The salad dressing is outstanding so hang on to it and use it with other salads. Below is Giada's recipe, but if you have leftovers to use up, make it your own like I did! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 New York strip steaks, about 8 ounces each
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 pound penne pasta
  
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• 2 cups chopped arugula
  

Season the steak with salt and pepper, herbes de Provence, and the minced garlic. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the steak for about 7 minutes per side. Remove the meat to a cutting board and let it rest while you cook the pasta.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the basil, parsley and 3/4 cup olive oil. Because I was using leftover steak and didn't have garlic on the steak, I minced up the garlic and put it into dressing. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with half of the salad dressing and the reserved pasta water. Set aside.

Slice the steaks thin and add to the pasta with the arugula. Add more dressing, and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Source: Everyday Pasta, Giada DeLaurentiis, copyright 2007

Mexican Deep-Dish Pan Pizza

With Cinco de Mayo coming up this week, our office decided to have another pot-luck luncheon. I wanted to bring something different and usually try out the recipe on my family first, but because it was short notice, I decided to take my chances and make it anyway. I actually thought it was pretty good, however, didn't get the "oh wow" factor from all of my co-workers. I ended up combining two different recipes that I found on foodnetwork.com. I took a Rachael Ray recipe called "Mexican Meat-zza: Mexican Deep-Dish Pan Pizza", but I have to admit I did change it a little bit. I ended up cooking the peppers with the onions and I also made the cornbread from scratch using Tyler Florence's Cornbread recipe(Rachael's cornbread recipe can be found on www.foodnetwork.com). Hope you have a chance to try this recipe and let me know what you think.

Ingredients for Cornbread:

• 4 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
  
• 2 cups stone-ground cornmeal, white or yellow
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 4 large eggs
  
• 2 cups milk
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
  

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the bacon into a cold 10-inch cast iron pan and cook over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon bits are crisp. Do not let it burn. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Keep the bacon fat in the pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cormeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a whisk until foamy; whisk in the milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the bacon bits and the chives. Pour the batter into the cast iron pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25minutes.

While the cornbread is baking, start on the pizza topping.

Ingredients for Topping:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns on the pan
  
• 1 pound ground beef
  
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly
  
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
  
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  
• 2 teaspoons cayenne sauce (I used ground cayenne pepper)
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 2 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese
  
• 1 small can, 2 1/4 ounce sliced chiles or jalapenos, drained
  
• 2 scallions, chopped
  
• 2 small vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
  
• 2 tablespoons drained sliced green olives (salad olives)
  
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, optional garnish
  
• Mild to medium taco sause to pass at the table
  

Pour oil in skillet and cook onion and peppers on medium. When veggies are tender, add the ground beef and as the beef is cooking, add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne and salt until cooked.

Add beef mixture to top of cooked cornbread and then start adding cheese, jalapenos, scallions, tomatoes, olives.

Once all the ingredients are on top of the cornbread, return skillet back to the oven on 400 degrees F for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

What is nice about this recipe is that you can make it your own. You can try it with italian sausage and beef combo or just sausage, you can add more cheese and other toppings that you and your family like.

References:
Cornbread, Tyler Florence, Television Food Network, copyright, 2006

Mexican Meat-zza: Mexican Deep Dish Pan Pizza, Rachael Ray, Television Food Network, copyright, 2006