Sugar Cookies

So my new thing is going to be making sugar cookies.  It is too easy to eat A TON of the regular drop cookies- and sugar cookies are just less appealing to me.  To eat, anyway.  It has been a turn off in the past, but now, I sorta like that they take a lot of effort- you have to chill the dough, roll them out, cut the cookies, bake them, ice them one color at a time... I think it might be good for me, in an artsy kind of way.  Here are the icing recipes that I am using so far:

Decorated Rolled Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 C. butter, softened
2 C. white sugar
4 eggs
1 t. vanilla
5 C. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt

Combine all ingredients (wet first, then the dry, just like normal) and then let chill in a fridge for at least an hour and up to over night.  Roll out on parchment paper to 1/4-1/2" thick.  Cut out shapes, pull away scraps and roll them on a new sheet of parchment paper.  Transfer the parchment paper with the cookie cut outs and bake in a 400 degree oven for 6 minutes or so.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Icing: 
2 C. powdered sugar
4 t. milk
4 t. light corn syrup
1/2 t. vanilla (or almond) extract
food coloring

Mix everything together and then separate into different bowls, add food coloring and go to town!  This is the kind of icing that goes on shiny and dries hard, so you can stack the cookies- it looks very professional.  Well, not when I make them just yet... but it could be.  It dries just right.  Takes about 20 minutes for the first coat to dry before you can add on top of that without having it run- and then after about 90 minutes or so, they are ready to stack.

Sugar Cookie Icing from Grandma Squires
1/4 C. shortening
1 lb (4 C.) powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
milk until it is the right consistency

I haven't made this one yet, but I think it is more of a Lofthouse cookie style of frosting... still delicious and what she uses for Christmas cookies.

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This recipe also came from Grandma Squires.  I made it tonight for St. Patrick's Day (added green food coloring, of course) and they turned out really good.  I didn't have time to chill the dough and they were still delicious.

Drop Sugar Cookies 
1 C. white sugar (or 1.5 C powdered sugar)
1 C. butter
1.5 t. vanilla (or you can use .5 almond extract + 1 t. vanilla)
1 egg
2 1/3 C. flour
1/2 t. baking soda

Preheat to 375.  Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Stir in vanilla and egg, then flour and soda.  Cover and fridge for 2 hours (if you have the time) otherwise just go for it.  Bake for 6-7 minutes (if you use the big cookie scoop to measure, and then roll into a ball shape) and pull them out before they look done, as always.

This frosting is pretty darn good, very much like the Lofthouse Cookies.  Jason said the combo of these two made perhaps the best cookie he has ever had in his whole life.  He seemed genuine when he said it, too!

Lofthouse Frosting
1/2 C. butter, at room temp
1/2 C. Crisco (I use butter flavored)
1/8 t. salt
1 T. vanilla extract
5 C. powdered sugar
1/4 C. (whole) milk, added slowly until you get the consistency you like.

Combine the butter and Crisco until light and fluffy.  Add everything else.  You can use this to spread with a spatula, or you can put it in a bag and pipe it on.

Jenny's Spaghetti Sauce

So my foodie friend Jenny made this for us right after we had Kate, and I know it's just spaghetti, but OMG it was amazing.  I think that I might be a convert, so much so that I might not even use jarred pasta sauce much going forward.  This was SO good and really easy to make.

Cook in a wok or large soup pot...
2.5 or 3 hot italian sausage links (you don't need any extra oil, by the way...)
2.5 or 3 mild italian sausage links
optional - if you're feeding a crowd- 1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1/2 onion, diced small

Then add...
28 oz can tomato sauce
28 oz can diced tomatoes (Jenny used fresh tomatoes from her garden... deseed, dice and add!)
1 6 (or is it 8- the small skinny can) oz can tomato paste

Then add...
1 T. oregano
1 T. basil
1 t. thyme (or a little less)
1 t. rosemary (or a little less)
1/4 t. sage
2 bay leaves

Turn it down to simmer for 30-60 minutes, giving it an occasional stir.  Serve over pasta with parmesan cheese, a green salad and some garlic bread and enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash

So we have all heard how good for us spaghetti squash is, right?  One cup of it has 42 calories.  If you sub that for your spaghetti, you can easily shave a couple hundred calories off your meal.  And no, it doesn't taste just like pasta... but with a good sauce on top, it is definitely edible and very filling.

It is super easy to cook, too.  Here's what you do:

Stab a couple of puncture holes in the squash.

Then, place the whole thing either in a 375 degree oven for 40-60 minutes, or wrap it in plastic-wrap and put it in the microwave for 10 minutes or so.  Either way, you want a sharp knife to slide into the skin somewhat easily.

Give it a few (5-10) minutes to cool, and then carefully slice it in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds, and then take a fork to the flesh.  It will shred into little spaghetti like pieces.  Serve with olive oil and parmesan cheese, or put a good meat sauce on top- and enjoy!

PS You can also cut a spaghetti squash in half and cook using either of these methods above.  If you do that, it will cook faster- but you have to be really careful not to cut your arm off.  I'm not kidding, it is really tough to cut through- and you know if you open half of it, you're going to want the other half too- so you may as well just throw the whole thing in at the same time!  Enjoy!