Buttermilk Pillows
3rd Place – Lion House 150th Anniversary Cookie Contest – September 2006

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups sugar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup buttermilk

Creamy Frosting
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup half and half or whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Pour buttermilk into separate measuring cup. Add dry ingredients to the batter mixture, alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (Three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk.) Roll dough into 2-3 Tbsp sized balls and place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack and frost. To make frosting, mix all ingredients together until smooth. Makes 2 dozen.

AMISH OVEN-FREID CHICKEN

Price ranted and raved about this chicken for days after eating it for the first time! I think it's the best fried chicken I've ever had. I got the recipe from an Amish-country cookbook that Connie was going to throw out! I did not include the marjoram.

1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. butter
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. dried marjoram (optional)
8-9 chicken pieces - legs, thighs, breasts, etc..

Place the oil and butter in a shallow cooking pan and put in a preheated 375 degree oven to melt. Set aside. Combine the flour and seasonings in a shallow dish. Roll the chicken pieces in the melted oil-butter mixture, then drop them in the flour mixture. Completely coat and tap off excess. Place chicken in the pan (if using skin-on chicken, place skin side down). Bake for 45 minutes. With a spatula, turn chicken over and bake for another 5-10 minutes longer, or until the top crust begins to bubble. Serve hot or cold - but the crust texture is better if chicken is not refrigerated before eating. The pan drippings make an "absolutely divine" gravy for either mashed potatoes or baking powder biscuits. (Serves 4-5)

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I can't wait to try this one!

Here's Another One

Pumpkin Butter (yum!)

I really want to try this one

This looked good

I haven't tried these tarts, but they looked so good, and supposedly easy. I thought I would share.

Ziti Casserole

1 pound ziti noodles (or other shaped pasta)
8 oz Cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 28 oz can of tomatoes or 1 quart home bottled tomatoes
(minus 1/4 cup liquid) - slightly blended
1/2 cup half and half or evaporated milk
seasoned bread crumbs - or make your own with crumbed fresh bread and melted butter

Cook noodles as directed, drain. Mix noodles, salt, pepper, both cheeses and tomatoes together. Put in a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour the half and half over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top casserole with bread crumbs and bake and additional 10 minutes.

*I made this last night for the fam and they all loved it. It's super simple but hits the spot.

Healthier-for-you-but-still-yummy Crock Pot Fajitas

1 tsp. garlic powder
1 large onion, sliced or chopped
10 jalapeno rings (I use 1 medium Anaheim Chile, seeds removed, instead)
3 bell peppers, sliced and seeded (red, yellow, green)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 envelope Fajita seasoning mix
1 can black beans or black soy beans, drained
2-3 chicken breasts (can use beef or pork tenderloin instead)
1/2 c. water or broth

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours. Meat should shred easily. Serve with tortillas and your favorite toppings (cheese, guacamole, light sour cream, tomatoes, hot sauce, etc...)

Chocolate Chip Cookies Cockaigne

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

2/3 c. packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 T. milk

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 c. rolled oats, ground fine in a blender or food processor

1 c. semisweet chocolate morsels

3-oz. milk chocolate bar, coarsely grated or finely chopped

3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Thoroughly stir together dry ingredients, excluding sugars & oats. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugars and wet ingredients. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until evenly incorporated. Stir in oats, chocolate and nuts, if using. With lightly greased hands, shape the dough into generous 1 1/2" balls. Space about 2" apart on sheets. Pat down the tops of the balls just slightly. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 8-12 minutes, or until just tinged with brown. Rotate sheets halfway through baking to ensure even browning, being careful not to over bake. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let the cookies firm up, 3-4 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to wire racks until thoroughly cool. Store, airtight, for 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

Homemade Tomato Soup and Croutons

Make sure to use canned whole tomatoes that are not packed in puree; you will need some of the juice to make the soup.

Ingredients
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes (not packed in puree), drained, 3 cups juice reserved, tomatoes seeded – I use two quart bottles of home bottled tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
Melt the butter, add drained tomatoes, onion, brown sugar and tomato paste. Cook until the onion is softened and the tomatoes begin to caramelize, about 15 minutes.
Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add chicken stock and stir in reserved tomato juice. Cover; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. (Use small batches so you don’t have an unpleasant explosion!) Return pureed soup to pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

We love to serve this soup with homemade croutons. A easy and delicious way to use home bottled tomatoes!

Garlic Croutons – You’ll want to at least double this!

2 large cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through garlic press
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups bread cubes (1/2 inch, about 4 slices of good quality bread)
Adjust rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine garlic, salt, and oil in a bowl. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Spread bread cubes in an even layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring after 10 minutes, until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Cool on baking sheet to room temperature. (Can be covered and stored at room temperature up to 24 hours.)

American Sandwich Bread – (Quick Bake Version)

1 cup whole milk, warm
1/3 cup water, warm
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 Tbsp honey
3 ¾ cups unbleached flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Gluten (optional)
2 tsp Dough Enhancer (optional)

Mix milk, water butter and yeast. Add other dry ingredients and mix for 10 minutes in mixer. (You'll know you have enough flour if the dough cleans itself off of the side of the bowl.)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spray pans with oil and put a small amount of oil on the counter. Put dough on counter and briefly knead it into a cylinder and place in pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn up heat to 350 degrees and set timer for an additional 20 minutes. Check and cook another 10 minutes if needed.
(If doubling, it will make 3 loaves)

Options –

Buttermilk Sandwich Bread - Substitute buttermilk for milk.

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread – Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of old-fashioned oats and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Cool until just warm. Omit the water in above recipe. Add the oatmeal with the dry ingredients.