Tamale Pie

Although the title of my blog mentions mainly sweets, I still love to cook different recipes for meals & thought other people might like access to the recipes too. This is another recipe from the eatbetteramerica.com website.

Tamale Pie

2 cans (15 oz each) salt-free pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 can (14.5 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
1 cup frozen organic sweet corn
1 cup frozen lima beans
1 cup medium salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tube (16 to 18 oz) refrigerated plain polenta, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
In 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, stir together beans, zucchini, tomatoes, corn, lima beans, salsa and chili powder. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Spoon into baking dish. Arrange polenta on top, overlapping slices slightly if necessary. Bake 25 minutes or until bubbly at edges. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 3 minutes longer or until melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I didn't follow the directions exactly. Instead of the individual corn & lima beans I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables with lima beans. I would recommend at least another cup of salsa if you like, otherwise it was a little dry. Also, I had a box of corn meal & the ingrediants for cornbread at home so I substitued that for the polenta. I added some cilantro & cumin to both the vegetables & cornbread for more flavor.

To view the original recipe, please click here.

Special K Cookies

This is another recipe that comes from my college days living at the Alpha of Clovia 4-H Scholarship House. It's another very simple recipe that can be made into cookies or bars.

Special K Cookies

1 cup white sugar

1 cup white corn syrup

1 1/2 cup peanut butter

5 cups Special K cereal

Combine sugar & syrup in a large pot. Bring mixture to a boil, but do not cook. (I turned the heat down from high to medium while adding in the peanut butter & cereal.) Drop by rounded teaspoons onto waxed paper to cool.

To make bars rather than cookies, put mixture in a 8 x 14 inch greased pan & cool. Topping (optional): Melt 1 cup chocolate chips & 1 cup peaut butter chips together. Spread over top of cookie mixture.

*A tip to help with measuring sticky liquids such as corn syrup is to spray your measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray first. Then when you pour your liquid out of the cup, you'll be able to get it all out without much mess!

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I found this recipe on the http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/ website. The website offers a variety of recipes for all occasions & has recipes that people have altered to make healthier. At first, this cookie looks like a "no bake" cookie but it has a mild flavor that isn't too sweet or rich. My husband really enjoyed them.

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup low fat creamy vanilla yogurt

1 egg or 1/4 cup fat-free egg product
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350ºF. In large bowl, mix sugar, butter, yogurt, egg and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

To view the original website & see the nutritional facts about this recipe, please click here.

Monster Cookies

This recipe comes from the cookbook of the scholarship house I attended while in college. We made all our own food & most of the recipes were old fashioned, down-home-cooking. These cookies are so simple but soooo delicious!

Monster Cookies

3 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup margarine

1 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

4 1/2 cup instant oatmeal

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup M & M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix ingredients in order given. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Yields approximately 5 dozen cookies.

Want a printable copy of this recipe? Just click on the image below.

Peanut Butter Oreo Truffles

So I tried experimenting with my Oreo Truffle recipe (see previous post). This time, instead of using original Oreos, I used the peanut butter flavored ones. To give it more flavor, I would recommend adding at least 1/4 cup peanut butter to the dough.

I also also used low fat cream cheese instead of original. It didn't change the flavor but the dough softened a lot quicker & made coating it with chocolate a little more difficult.

Finally, I took some advise from the Good Eats 'Sweet Treats blog & added some crumbs to the tops of some of the truffles.

Keep watching for more updates on this recipe since I've been receiving a lot of requests for it!

Sugar Cookies

This recipe originally came from my home town bakery. I have so many memories of going to the bakery after school & just drowling over all the goodies there. My home economics teacher gave us this recipe & I have been so grateful ever since because the bakery went out of business before we made them.

The dough itself isn't very exciting but the almond extract in the glaze usually makes everyone wonder what you did differently when making these sugar cookies. I make these every year for my family & honestly wouldn't use a different recipe. You can leave them plain with the glaze or decorate with sprinkles, etc.

The baked cookies freeze very well. This year I made a double batch of the dough & froze the baked cookies for a few weeks. When I was ready, I let the cookies thaw then glazed them.

Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 3/4 cup flour

Cut all ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine with the following ingredients with an electric mixer.

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Roll dough out on a lightly floured counter top. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze

2 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix until smooth and drizzle consistency. Frost cookies with glaze & allow to dry on waxed paper.