Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Isn't it funny how our tastes change as we get older? I am convinced that if you had asked me as a child if I liked lemon desserts, I would have scrunched my face and shouted a big "Yuck!" But ask me now what my favorite desserts are and they will usually involve the words "lemon" or "raspberry."


I found this recipe for Lemon Ricotta cookies on the Food Network website. They did a 12 Days of Cookies countdown around the holidays, and Day 5 introduced this delicious recipe from Giada DeLaurentis. I had high hopes, but having never used ricotta cheese in a baking recipe before, I was unsure if I would like the taste and texture. Boy, am I glad I tried these. They are definitely a new favorite - almost cake-like, they have some similarities with the Pumpkin Butterscotch cookies I've come to love. Try them - you won't be disappointed!


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
15 oz. whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 tbsp. lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons, depending on their size)
Zest of one lemon


Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
Zest of one lemon


*Note: if you can find Meyer Lemons at your local grocery store, I suggest using them. They are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange and provide a sweeter flavor than a traditional lemon...perfect for baking!


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a medium bowl with a hand- or stand-mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
5. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice and zest. Mix until just combined.
6. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.


This dough is extremely sticky, so here's how I formed the cookie batter into balls:
7. Place a 1/2 cup or so of flour in a small bowl.
8. Rub the flour on clean hands and on a spoon.
9. Using the floured spoon, scoop out about one tsp. worth of batter from the mixing bowl.
10. With floured hands, form the batter into a ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
11. Repeat this with all of the cookie batter, re-flouring your hands and the spoon after 2 or 3 cookies.


12. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes until just golden on the edges.
13. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, approximately 15 more minutes.
14. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl.
15. Once the cookies have cooled, spoon 1 tsp. of glaze on each cookie and spread to the edges with the back of the spoon.
16. Let glazed cookies sit at room temperature for 2 hours in order for the glaze to harden. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days; they also store well in the freezer for up to a week.

Chicken Quesadilla Pie

Another winner from Real Simple that calmed my cravings for some good Mexican food. And it was just as good leftover the next day.


Ingredients
10 oz. can enchilada sauce (red or green is fine)
1/4 cup sour cream
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sauteed and diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 zucchini, peeled and diced
Salt, pepper and onion powder
*Serve with black refried beans and avocado.


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

3. Grate the cheese and set aside.

4. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and onion powder.
5. Dice and saute in a medium skillet until cooked through. Set aside.

6. Place a tortilla in the bottom of a lightly greased pie dish.

7. Spread the sour cream mixture on the tortilla.

8. Top with a third of the cheese, chicken, onion and zucchini.

9. Repeat twice to form a total of three layers. Top with the remaining tortilla.

10. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
12. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Chili

If you know me, you know I'm not a football girl. But I can certainly get excited about a game if there is a lot of hype around me. So when the Bears played the Packers last weekend, I thought it would be fun to watch the game with friends. And what good is a gathering without food? I found this recipe for slow-cooker chili from the Real Simple website (which I love, by the way). It was so easy to prepare ahead of time, and I thought it turned out so delicious. For a meatless chili, it had all the "oomph" you'd expect from a more traditional recipe. And I loved the fresh, cold, crunchy toppings combined with the hot chili. Yum!


Ingredients
1 medium red onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15.5 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
*For garnish, I used thinly sliced radishes, sliced scallions, diced avocados and sour cream.


Directions
1. Prepare the vegetables.
2. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, add all of the vegetables, beans and seasonings. 

3. Add one cup of water to the slow cooker. Mix to combine.
4. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours (on high heat) or 7 to 8 hours (on low heat).
5. Serve with desired toppings. Real Simple also suggested serving it with tortilla chips.

Suwanski liked it...much more than she liked the Bears losing to the Packers.

Breakfast Quiche

Sick of the ol' eggs and bacon or cottage cheese routine, I was looking to "spice things up" for breakfast last weekend. I came across an awesome blog, Gluten Free Goddess, and though I am not allergic to gluten, found myself wanting to try many of her recipes. This one for a crustless breakfast quiche was awesome...so I made it again this weekend...and I will likely make it next weekend, too! I made just a few small adjustments/additions, but I stuck mainly to her original recipe.


Ingredients
4-5 small potatoes, sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 small zucchini, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 head broccoli, separated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups freshly grated parmesan or Swiss cheese
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
*Optional: can add fresh chopped herbs, such as scallions, chives, parsley or basil, to the egg mixture.


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Prepare the above veggies and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss with a spoon or clean hands.

3. Roast for 20-25 minutes (longer if you slice your vegetables bigger) until fork tender.
4. While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the custard. Combine the eggs, milk, sour cream and nutmeg in a small bowl and whisk until frothy and well-combined.
5. Grate the cheese into a small bowl and set aside.
6. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate.
7. Place the roasted vegetables in the bottom of the pie plate and arrange them into an even layer.

8. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the vegetables.

9. Pour the custard over the vegetables, allowing it to seep around and fill the entire dish.

10. Bake in the 375 degree oven for 35 minutes until the center of the quiche is no longer "wiggly."

11. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing; this ensures that your slices come out evenly and don't fall apart. 

Butternut Squash & Sausage Soup

Sonja and her adorable girls came to visit this summer, and she was kind enough to share this soup recipe with me...thanks, Sonja!

Sonja with her girls, Paige and Morgan.

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1 butternut squash, roasted and cubed (per Sonja's suggestion, I got the 2 lb. package of prepared butternut squash at Costco. It saved me so much time!)
2 cans Cannelini beans
1 package Hillshire Farms turkey kielbasa sausage
A couple handfuls of chopped kale (I used spinach because that's what I had in the fridge)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Quarter the sausage into bite-size pieces..
3. Prepare the butternut squash; if you don't purchase it pre-cubed, click here for roasting directions. Roast until tender, approximately 20 minutes.

4. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the thyme and stir.
6. Add the beans, squash cubes and sausage, and stir to combine.

7. Add the chicken broth and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

8. Remove from heat and add the kale, stirring until wilted. 

9. Stir in the cider vinegar, salt and pepper (to taste).
10. I served it with a dollop of sour cream.

Apple Pancakes

The more recipes I search, the more I am realizing how common sour cream is in cookies, cakes and breads. I cannot believe I've baked without it for so long - everything turns out so much more moist with some sour cream mixed into the batter. Here's a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa that I have altered just slightly by adding some additional spices. The original recipe is for Banana-Sour Cream Pancakes, and they are delicious. One morning, I didn't have any bananas, so I used apples instead.


Directions
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 apples, peeled, cored and very thinly diced
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg


Ingredients
1. Prepare the apples by peeling, coring and slicing them very thinly.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest until well-combined.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mixing only until combined. Fold in the apple slices.
5. Lightly grease a grill pan or skillet with olive oil or butter. Heat over medium-low heat and scoop even-sized dollops of the batter onto the heated surface.

6. Flip once you see bubbles forming on the top of the pancake.

7. Cook until just heated through to maintain the moist texture.
8. Serve with butter and syrup, if desired.


*Note: for banana pancakes, use two ripe bananas in place of the apples. Also, use 2 tsp. of nutmeg instead of the cinnamon/nutmeg measurements provided above.

Garlic Soup

Remember when I raved about my Uncle Craig's delicious vegetarian cooking skills? Here's another one I had to make:

Ingredients

1 lb. garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 lb. yellow potatoes, diced

2 quarts vegetable broth

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Peel and chop garlic cloves. Also chop the onion and celery.

2. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat.

3. Saute onion, celery and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add broth, potatoes and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil.

5. Lower heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, covered.

6. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender until pureed.

7. Add salt and black pepper.

8. If desired, add a dollop of sour cream and some snipped chives or scallions.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Perhaps it's because I was raised on it, but I think JIF peanut butter is absolutely the best. Crunchy or creamy, on a sandwich or in a cookie, I can't resist it. So when I want to make peanut butter cookies, who would know better than JIF how to make them totally delicious? I don't alter this recipe one bit...except to bake them for two minutes less. I can't handle crunchy, over-baked cookies.


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup JIF peanut butter
1/2 cup butter-flavor Crisco shortening sticks
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, milk and vanilla. Beat with a stand- or hand-mixer until well blended.
3. Add the egg and beat until just blended.
4. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Add flour mixture to the sugar mixture slowly on low speed. Mix until just blended.
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Form about one tbsp. of dough into a ball and set on the baking sheet. Repeat until baking sheet is full and the balls of dough are about two inches apart.
8. Flatten each ball using the tines of a fork, pushing down to form a criss-cross pattern.
9. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 6 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for two minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken Pot Pie

After a long day of traveling back to Chicago from the Christmas holiday at my mom's, I just wanted to sit down and eat some good comfort food. And what's more warm and comforting on a cold winter day than chicken pot pie? I adapted the Barefoot Contessa's pot pie recipe, and here's how:


Ingredients
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Onion powder
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 sticks butter (equals 12 tbsp.)
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 medium carrots, peeled, blanched and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
10 oz. package frozen peas
16 oz. package frozen pearl onions
Dried parsley and oregano


For the pastry topping:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1/4 lb. cold butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water
1 egg white
Salt and black pepper


Directions
1. Begin by preparing the pastry topping. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. With a hand- or stand-mixer, add the shortening and butter and mix until the size of peas.
2. With the mixer on, add the ice water and mix until the dough is just moistened.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Do not knead for too long or your hands will warm the butter and your pastry topping will lose its flakiness.

4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and onion powder.
7. Heat olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven, and saute the chicken until cooked through.

8. Set aside on a cutting board so the juices can redistribute.

9. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.
10. In the same large pot or Dutch oven that you cooked the chicken in, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

11. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into medium cubes. Set aside. Peel the carrots and set aside. Also, chop the celery and set aside.
12. Add the flour to the butter/onion mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
13. Add the hot chicken stock to the flour mixture. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute, stirring, until thick.
14. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, drop the carrots in and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove, rinse with cold water and dice.
15. Add salt, pepper and heavy cream.

16. Add the chicken, carrots, celery, peas and pearl onions. Add 1 tsp. each dried parsley and oregano. Mix well.

17. Divide the filling into two large oven-safe dishes.

18. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half.
19. Roll out each half into a circle and place over the top of the dish. Pinch the dough to the edges of the dish and make a few small slits in the top of the pastry.

20. Brush with egg white, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
21. Bake for 1 hour, until the pastry topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.