Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Nothing is as refreshing as the taste of lemon, and these cookies are a delish sweet treat!

 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. icing sugar

 Cream butter and sugar. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice. Combine salt, b. powder, b. soda and flour, slowly stir into creamed mixture until just combined, scrape bowl and briefly mix again. Roll 1 tbsp. of dough at a time into icing sugar to form a ball. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 for 9-11 minutes.

World's Best Spaghetti Sauce

This was my Mom's spaghetti sauce recipe (I'm pretty sure she found it on the back of the Heinz bottle) that she always made for us while we were growing up. And it was one of the first dinners she would ask us girls to make on our own (a.k.a. really easy to make :)). I love the flavor the chili sauce adds to it, and since it makes more than what our little family can eat in one sitting, I usually freeze half of the sauce for a night when I'm in a hurry.

 

World's Best Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
285 ml Heinz Chili Sauce
398 ml tomato sauce
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. salt (or less)
1 bay leaf
1/4 c. water

Brown beef, garlic and onion. Add remaining ingredients when beef is cooked and let simmer for 35-45 minutes. Serve over spaghetti that has been cooked according to package directions. Easy Peazy!

Cynthias Shredded Prok

Put this pork on a wrap with some spinach and a squirt of lime juice and you have an AMAZING supper with no leftovers! Finally made this in the beginning of December for the first time and well... its been on a bi-weekly rotation since (coming from the lady who loves to try new things, this is a big compliment).

 

 

 

Cynthias Shredded Pork

 

4 lb. pork shoulder

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. salt

pepper to taste

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 onion, quartered

lime wedges

 

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder. Put spices, oil, vinegar, sugar and onion into a food processor or blender. Blend mixture until totally combined and pour over pork shoulder. Now rub it into every nook and cranny, then place into a roasting pan and add a few cups of water. Cover tightly and roast at 300 for several hours, turning once every hour. When it is fork tender, crank up the heat to about 400, remove lid and roast skin side up for another 20 minutes to get the skin crispy. When it is done let it rest 15 minutes. Then shred meat, put in serving bowl and pour the juices all over the meat. Serve with warm tortillas, sour cream, salsa, spinach and lime wedges (I was going to skip the lime, but it sure adds an awesome twist to the flavour!).

Ham & Cheese Sliders

I made these for a quick Sunday night dinner this past weekend, and they were so good that Lyndon said I HAD to make them for lunch on Monday as well (quite a compliment)! Defiantly a step-up from your basic ham and cheese sandwich, and I used my homemade buns to make these.

 

Ham & Cheese Sliders

24 dinner rolls
24 pcs. honey ham
24 slices Swiss cheese
1/3 c. mayo
1/3 c. Miracle Whip

Poppy seed sauce:
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 c. melted butter
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine mayo and Miracle Whip (I used only Calorie Wise whipped dressing and it tasted delicious), spread on both halves of sliced dinner rolls. Top with a slice of ham and cheese and place tightly in a baking dish.
Wisk together sauce ingredients and brush pour over sandwiches, let sit 10 minutes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 2 minutes.
The original recipe said that you can make a day ahead and bake when needed, maybe I will try this next time :)

Awesome Breadmaker Buns

These are my go to, memorized, made weekly buns! They are easy to make and always usually turn out ;) My mother-in-law is an awesome bun maker and when I got married I had never made bread before, so to try and prove my culinary worthiness I was determined to make bread. Well it took two years of failed attempts and hockey pucks before I came across this recipe that turned out perfect for me on my first attempt! It is also very versatile, I have made it into bread loaves, substituted 1/3 of the all purpose flour for whole wheat, added seeds, wheat germ, you get the idea. 

 

Awesome Breadmaker Buns

2 1/4 c. warm water
1/2 c. canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 1/2 c. flour
3/4 Tbsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. bread machine yeast (I usually use instant yeast)

Layer first 6 ingredients in your bread maker in order listed. Top with yeast, being careful not to touch liquid. Put on dough cycle and leave (I usually check after 5 minutes to make sure it is coming together, sometimes my machine will just spin in the liquid and not draw down the dry ingredients). When dough cycle is done, remove from machine and roll into balls (smaller than tennis balls). Place on greased pans, let rise till double in a warm place about 1 hour (I put my oven on Keep Warm for a few minutes then turn it off otherwise it gets too warm and this temperature seems to be perfect). Bake at 325 for 20 min. (important to note that I remove the buns while the oven is preheating).