Savvy Saturday: Recipes Part Two!

From the family of Makenna Snow:

For Christmas Eve every year my family does an “iron chef” competition for appetizers and desserts with a secret ingredient. This year is sour cream so I am preparing How the Grinch stole Spinach dip. Yeah, we’re weird.

2 packages frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
3 packages cream cheese
2 containers sour cream
2 cans quartered artichokes
1 cup mayo
Salt and pepper to taste
Half cup Parmesan cheese (for top)

Mix all ingredients except Parmesan cheese. Put is oven safe casserole dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cook on 350 F for 45 minutes or until heated thoroughly in the center. Serve with tortilla chips.


Snickerdoodles from Celia Breslin's Grandmother's Cookie Jar:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine, butter, or shortening (my grandmother uses shortening)
1 – 2 tsp. vanilla (my grandmother uses 1 more often than 2)
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a small bowl, mix the tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Mix together margarine (or butter or shortening), sugar, vanilla, eggs.
4. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt. Add to wet ingredients.
5. Form one-inch or 1 1/4 inch balls, and roll balls in sugar/cinnamon mixture.
6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cook for 8 – 10 minutes.
7. Remove from sheet and cool on cookie rack.

Spinach Artichoke Dip from the recipe book of Amy McKinley:

Ingredients:
14 ounces of marinated artichoke hearts
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
10 ounces frozen spinach
1 package of shredded Kraft Italian 5 cheese blend (or your preferred brand)
1 cup grated Romano cheese (or parmesan if you prefer)
French bread or crackers to serve on

Directions:
Cook and fully drain the spinach of all excess water. Drain and chop the artichoke hearts. mix it all together in a bow. Pour into a pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

Hot out of Hannah McKee's oven:

I make my lasagna vegetarian, so the directions are for that. It’s my own recipe but very easy.

You will need:

1 box of lasagna noodles
1 bag of Morningstar crumbles (or substitute with meat of your choice)
Mozzarella cheese (at least 2 cups but more if you like it extra cheesy)
1/2 - 1 cup of cheddar cheese - I prefer sharp
1 small container (8 oz) of ricotta cheese
1 jar of the spaghetti sauce if your choice
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional 1 - any garlic/oregano or Italian spices to add to ricotta cheese
Optional 2 - use 1/2 ricotta and 1/2 marscapone cheese

Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees. Butter or grease a pan (usually do 8 x 8 but any size you want is fine.)

Boil lasagna noodles as directed on package.

At this time prepare ricotta cheese in a small bowl. I mix salt and pepper to taste and any desired spices.

In a separate bowl prepare meatless crumbles. (Or meat of your choice) once cooked as any spices and salt and pepper. Also add spaghetti sauce so crumbles are saturated but not swimming.

Once lasagna noodles are finished cooking, lay them on a paper towel and dry them off. They should be damp but not dripping wet.

Line the bottom of the greased pan with noodles. On top, place either the crumbles or cheese and sprinkle mozzarella over it. Continue by layering more noodles and the alternate filling, sprinkling with mozzarella each time.

Top with noodles then cover with remaining mozzarella and the cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes. It varies due to where you live. (In CA I always pushed 45 minutes but I’m HI it cooks closer to the 30 side)

And there you go, super easy and delicious lasagna. You can add anything you want just by making a new layer or mixing in with the other ones.

Savvy Saturday: Wintertime Recipes From Your Favorite Authors Part 1

Hello and welcome to Savvy Saturday! This week, we asked our authors what their favorite recipes were for winter or the holidays, and it turns out that they were eager to share. So much so, that we had to split this post in two! So get your cooking tools ready for Part One of these wonderful author recipes.

From the kitchen of Carly Marino's Grandmother:

Italian Anginetti Cookies
COOKIE

1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup vegetable shortening
3 large eggs
1 1⁄2 teaspoons lemon extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄8 teaspoon salt

FROSTING

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1⁄4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon extract

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• For cookies, cream together sugar and shortening.
• Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt; Mix well.
• The dough should be soft and sticky.
• With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a slightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
• Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.
• Remove cookies from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
• For frosting, combine confectioners' sugar, water and lemon extract and mix until smooth.
• Frost the tops of each cookie with a metal spatula.
• Allow cookies to dry before stacking.
• Store in an airtight container.

From Shiela Stewart's Cookie Jar:

Eatmore Bars. 

If you have peanut allergies than this isn’t a recipe you’ll want to try.
What you will need is:

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups corn syrup
3 table spoons of cocoa
2 cups chocolate chips
4 cups chopped peanuts.

Directions:
Mix the first four ingredients together in a pot and heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add in chocolate chips. Once melted, add the nuts. Press into a large cookie sheet. Let cool before cutting.

There you go. It’s a simple recipe. I hope you enjoy them!

From the recipe book of Keith Willis:

King Size Holiday Gingersnaps (my grandmother's recipe handed down)

In medium bowl combine:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
3 tbsp baking soda

Blend together and set aside.

In large bowl mix:
1 cup sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1/3 cup molasses
3/4 cup shortening

Have Red and green sugar crystals for decoration.

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Cream shortening and sugar until smooth. Add egg and molasses and beat until smooth.
• Add flour mixture to sugar mixture in small batches to form dough.
• Form dough into small balls (no larger than 1"). 
• Place coated dough balls on cookie sheet. 
• Flatten balls slightly with bottom of a glass coated in butter and dipped into colored sugar. 
• (Note:flatten more for crispier cookies)
• Bake approximately 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Enjoy. 

Egg Nog Bundt Cake (courtesy of Hood Eggnog)

1 18 oz pudding-added yellow cake mix
Oil and eggs according to cake mix package directions
1 tsp nutmeg
Eggnog (substitute for water on cake mix package directions)

• Preheat oven to temp on cake mix directions. 
• Spray sides & bottom of bundt pan with cooking spray.
• Combine cake mix w/ eggs and oil. Add nutmeg. 
• Mix in eggnog, pour into bundt pan and bake.
• Cool and turn out cake onto rack.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with eggnog glaze (below).

Eggnog Glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tbsp softened butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp eggnog

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Add more eggnog to bring mixture to desired consistency.

From the family of Kay Latour:

Sweet Potato Casserole 

Ingredients
2 cups mashed sweet potato (baked in skin, sliced in half & filling scooped out)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together and put in buttered casserole dish

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup butter

Crumble together, sprinkle over sweet potato mixture, and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.