Something Extra: Lemon Drop Cookies

It's time for dessert, food friends!

I might feel a little guilty posting any other family Christmas cookie recipe, but this one only joined the arsenal a few years ago, and since then, Lexie and I have been assigned to making it. It feels more like a sister event than a holiday event, which is neat. Although, now that I'm living away from home, sister events are far between and feel like holidays.

In any case, I thought this simple little cookie would be a great one to share. It's the perfect cookie to have beside tea, or to share with friends for a little party. Or just to make yourself for a tart little treat.

And if you can swing it, this is the perfect recipe to make with your sister, too :)

Happy baking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lemon Drop Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup confectioners sugar

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

2 ¼ cup flour

Granulated sugar (about 2 Tbsp)

Yellow sugar sprinkles

Parchment paper

Lemon Glaze

½ cup confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and confectioners sugar.

3. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice and zest and beat until smooth. Add flour and mix until well combined.

4. Form dough into 1 inch balls and set about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

5. Dip the bottom of a glass into granulated sugar, then use it to flatten each ball to about a quarter-inch thick.

6. Bake the cookies for about 10-13 minutes, until barely golden. They'll be lightly crackled on top.

7. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel to cool.

8. While they are cooling, make the glaze. In a small wide bowl, mix together glaze ingredients until smooth and thin. (You may need to add a little extra lemon juice to get to the right consistency).

9. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the glaze. The cookies tend to be a bit crumbly, so hold gently. Top the still-wet glaze with yellow sugar sprinkles.

10. After the glaze has hardened, eat and enjoy.

Rolling the cookie balls.

Pressing the cookie spheres into cookie circles.

Out of the oven, golden and crackled.

Carefully dipping the cookies into glaze.

Making them extra pretty.

Happy cooking!

Something New: Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

That's right! Chinese food!

I mentioned last week that Chase gifted me a wok for Christmas. We've been trying recipes ever since, and have had great success so far. I was quite nervous about trying out a new kitchen gadget, and about making from-scratch stir fry. Never should have worried, though. It's remarkably easy!

Also, fresh ginger may be my new favorite ingredient. Also also, you can buy jasmine rice at the grocery store and it tastes just like steamed white rice from a Chinese restaurant. Awesome discovery!

This recipe is based on a recipe from the cookbook Chase got to accompany the wok. The book suggests that this recipe can also be made in a deep pan. We of course used the wok (and I encourage everyone to get one! They're cheap!), but if you don't have one, you should try this recipe anyway.

Another helpful kitchen tool on this one is a food processor, but don't be afraid to commit to a little hand chopping for this one. It's worth it.

Happy adventurous cooking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Ingredients

1 lb steak, cut into thin strips (I used top round steak)

2 cups broccoli, cut into long thin segments

1 cup carrots, cut to thin strips (optional)

½ cup baby corn, cut to thin strips (optional)

2 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil (don't use olive oil!)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 cup sliced onion

½ tsp salt

1 tsp soy sauce

Jasmine rice, prepared according to package directions

Marinade

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp rice wine or sake

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cumin

¼ tsp pepper

Directions

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the beef in the bowl and toss to cover with marinade.

2. Refrigerate and marinade for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, start cooking the rice.

3. A few minutes before you're ready to stir-fry, blanch the broccoli for about 30 seconds. Drain and set aside.

4. Place the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 1 Tbsp of the oil to the pan. Stir-fry the garlic, ginger and onion for 1 minute.

5. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for an additional minute. Remove from wok and set aside.

6. Add the last 1 Tbsp of oil to the wok and stir-fry until the beef is almost cooked through.

7. Return the broccoli mixture to the pan. Add carrots, corn, salt and soy sauce and stir-fry until the beef is finished cooking.

8. Serve immediately over rice.

Frying in the flavor. Look at that beautiful patina we got on our wok!

Bright delicious broccoli.

Jasmine rice, my favorite!

Fast frying!

Happy cooking!

Something Old: Tater Tot Casserole

Good morning, food friends!

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. Chase and I spent the weekend furniture shopping, and ended up with an awesome new kitchen table. It has drawers in it! And it looks classy.

This recipe is completely unrelated to that story, but it's a great dish. My friend Reneé will attest to that. Every time she makes this dish, she tells me (as far as I know!), and she's told me many times. I grew up with this recipe, although it showed up rarely, probably because my mom's not one for frozen fried foods like tater tots. Chase was a little shocked when we first made this recipe together and I told him it was a recipe from my mom, since he knew I came from a healthy food family. It's not totally unhealthy, though. There are vegetables in it!

Anyway, this recipe is a quick, simple, tasty dish for a dinner or dinner party. Serve with ketchup and you're ready to go.

Happy cooking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tater Tot Casserole June 13, 2010

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

¼ cup chopped onion

1 can corn, drained

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 bag of frozen tater tots

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, brown the beef and onion.

3. Add corn and soup to the skillet and mix.

4. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish. Cover the casserole with frozen tater tots, small side down.

5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

6. Serve with ketchup and enjoy.

Browning beef and onions together.

Soup and corn in with the beef.

Taters layered on top of the beef mixture.

Baked and ready for eating. Happy cooking!

Something New: Dad's Five-Bean Chili

First new recipe of the year!

My dad concocted this recipe sometime when I was a kid, combining lots of beans for flavor and taking the chocolate idea from the Skyline chili he ate in Cincinnati back in his residency days. It all comes full circle back to Ohio!

Then, while Chase and I were in Oklahoma over Christmas break, we made this recipe for his Mema & Pa and family. I hope this becomes a tradition: last Christmas, Chase and I made soup for his family, too! Food is a happy gift to give.

(To the Bolligs: Sorry it took a couple weeks to get the recipe up!)

This recipe can also be done in a slow cooker. Cook sausage in a large skillet, throw everything into a crock pot, and cook all day on low. Easy as that.

Happy cooking to all!

ps- The recipe for the bread pictured can be found here.

pps- Because this is a bean-heavy chili, it's easily vegetarian. Just skip the pork!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dad's Five-Bean Chili

Ingredients

1 lb country-style ground pork sausage

2 32-oz cans diced tomatoes

1 can black beans (16 oz for all beans)

1 can kidney beans

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 can white northern beans

1 can chili beans

1 Tbsp chicken bouillon crystals, or 2 bouillon cubes

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp chili powder

1-2 tsp dried onion flakes

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp garlic powder

2 squares Dove dark chocolate

Shredded cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot, cook sausage through.

2. Add tomatoes, beans and all liquid in cans (Do not drain!) to the pot.

3. Mix in spices.

4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook uncovered at a simmer for 2 to 3 hours, until thick.

5. Serve topped with shredded cheese.

It took two pots to feed the Bolligs!

The secret weapon: chocolate!

Happy cooking!

Something Old: Apple Nutmeg Pork Chops

Welcome to a new year, food friends!

My new year's resolutions happen to both be food related (At first they were also vague enough that they'd be hard to fail, but Chase thought specifics would be better. Darn his motivation). Number one is to eat out less. Chase is in on this one. We've set it now at two meals every two weeks. So we could go out once a week and split a meal, or go out once every half a month and each get our own meal. Should be good for our budget and our health.

Second resolution is to keep up with the blog better. I realize that since I'll have to be around the internet a lot for job applications, there's no excuse to miss a post. So two a week, one old recipe and one new one.

Oh, food related news! Chase got me a wok for Christmas! We made lo mein last night with great success, and we're trying out Beef with Broccoli (and ginger!) tonight. There may be a lot of wok cooking happening over here, but I promise to keep mostly to recipes that don't require specialized equipment.

I will say, though, that the wok is awesome and you can get a solid one for about 10 bucks. Worth it.

Enough random blabber (I've missed writing these things!) This is a recipe that Chase and I "invented" early this summer when I first moved up to Columbus. I spotted a picture of this recipe a few days ago (thank you, Facebook) and decided it would be a perfectly delicious way to start the new year.

ps- Chili recipe on Thursday!!

Happy cooking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Nutmeg Pork Chops June 16, 2010

Ingredients

4 pork chops

3-4 medium apples (Jonathan are ideal), sliced to medium thickness

½ cup sliced red onion

½ cup white wine (whatever's in your fridge)

¼ cup brown sugar

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cinnamon

3-4 Tbsp butter

3-4 Tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix nutmeg, cinnamon and brown sugar. Add apple slices and toss with your hands until the slices are coated.

2. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. After the butter is melted, places apples in the pot and give a quick stir. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally.

3. While the apples cook, add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, lightly sear each side of the chops. Salt and pepper each side as you turn them.

4. When each side is browned, remove chops to a plate. Add the sliced onions to the skillet. Place the chops back in the skillet on top of the onions and continue to cook on medium heat (about 10 minutes).

5. When the onions are translucent and the chops are almost cooked through, add the chops, onions and any juice in the skillet into the apple pot (which you've been stirring during the pork chop portion). At this time, also add the white wine. Depending on the depth of your pot, you may need to add an extra splash of wine.

6. Cover the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the pork chops are fully cooked.

7. Serve the chops topped with apples and sauce. Enjoy.

Apples tossed in yummy tastiness. (ps- This is the pic at the top of the blog!)

The onions looked pretty, so I took a pic of them on top of the chops before

cooking them under the chops.

Everything simmered and ready for serving. Happy cooking!