Aunt Vi's Brown Sugar Cookies

Some of my first Christmas memories involve these cookies at my Great-aunt Vi's house and now they a Christmas tradition in our home. They have a more mellow flavor (and a little sweeter) than your traditional white sugar cookies. I make the dough ahead of time and wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until I have time to make the cookies. The better chilled the dough is, the easier it rolls. Try them. You'll be a believer too! We make these year round for different holidays/occasions with a mass of cookie cutters we've collected - Super Bowl, Easter, Valentine's Day, etc... oh and just because)


4 c Flour
1 c Butter
2 Eggs
2 c Brown Sugar
1/4 c Cold water
1 t Vanilla
1 t Soda
Salt

Blend butter and sugar together, add eggs and beat well. Add other ingredients and mix well.
Chill dough for rolling into 1/2" thickness (try using powdered sugar instead of flour to keep dough & cutters from sticking) and cut with shaped cutters. Bake on parchment paper* in a 375 degree oven until slightly browned (approx 10 minutes). Frost with powdered sugar frosting or sprinkle with colored sugar before baking.

* The parchment paper keeps the cookie from sticking to the pan and from decorative sugars from burning/sticking.

TOTAL COSTS: $2.65
Flour $.75 (Aldi)
Butter $1.00 (Aldi)
Eggs $.20 (Aldi)
Brown Sugar $.70 (Aldi)
Vanilla/Soda - from stock

Hot Almond & Cream Drink

Found this amazing drink in Southern Living magazine. Served this last Christmas and it was a huge hit. Make this one for a crowd, because you don't want to drink it all yourself. A quick look at the ingredient list will confirm the reason why you don't want to do that... even though you'll want to.

1 c Butter
1 c Sugar
1 c Brown Sugar, packed
2 c Vanilla Ice Cream, softened
2 tsp Almond Extract
Ground Nutmeg
Boiling Water

In a saucepan over low heat, cook and stir butte and sugars for 12-15 minutes or until butter is melted. Pour into a large mixing bowl, add ice cream and extract. Beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until smooth, scraping the bowl often.

To make one serving: Spoon 1/4 c mix into a mug, add 3/4 c boiling water and stir well. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve immediately.

TOTAL COSTS: $2.55
Butter $1.00 (Aldi)
Sugar $.25 (Aldi)
Brown Sugar $.35 (Aldi)
Ice Cream $1.00 (Meijer)
Extract - from stock

Hot Mint Malt

Recipe from: Mable Hoffman’s Crockery Cookery
My sister-in-law Jenny made this for Christmas several years ago and I was hooked. I've made it several times since then for Christmas parties with rave reviews. This post is Kate who thinks about it every Christmas. Easy to make ahead for a large group.

3-4 York Mints ( 1 1/2 diameter)
5 c Milk
1/2 c Malted milk powder
1 t Vanilla
Whipped cream & crushed candy cane (garnish)

In crock pot, combine broken up mints, milk, malt powder and vanilla. Cover and heat on low for 2 hours. Beat with blender of mixer until frothy. Top with whipped cream and peppermint as desired. Serves 6

TOTAL COSTS: $1.85
Mints $.25 (Meijer - bulk)
Milk $.60 (Aldi)
Malt $1 (Meijer)
Vanilla from stock

Tomato Bacon Cups

Calling all BLT lovers. This is is a great little party bite or a just a fun way to eat dinner with the kids.

8 slices Bacon
1 lg Roma Tomato, chopped finely
1/2 Onion, chopped finely
3 oz Shredded swiss or mozzarella cheese
1/2 c Mayonnaise
1 t Dried basil
1 (16oz) Can refrigerated flaky biscuit dough

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
In a skillet, cook bacon until brown. Drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon into a medium mixing bowl, and mix with tomato, onion, cheese, mayo and basil. Separate biscuits into halves or thirds horizontally by pulling apart the layers. Place each biscuit layer into cups of the muffin tin. Fill each biscuit with bacon mixture.
Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown.

TOTAL COSTS: $3.10
Biscuits $1 (Aldi)
Bacon $1 (Aldi)
Mayo from stock
Tomato $.35 (Meijer)
Onion $.25 (Meijer)
Cheese $.50 (Aldi)

Variations:

• Pizza - Fill biscuits with pizza sauce, mozzarella and favorite pizza toppings.
• Chicken Alfredo - Diced leftover cooked chicken, alfredo sauce, parmasean cheese, mozzarella cheese, pine nuts (optional: roasted red peppers or broccoli)
• Roasted Veggies - variety of roasted veggies, provolone cheese
• Whatever you can imagine

Leftovers = YUM

I love thanksgiving leftovers - making sandwiches, soups, quesadillas, and casseroles...

In case you missed it the first time around, check out the recipe for Turkey Stuffing Bake. An easy and great way to use leftover turkey. My friend brought it to our Monday Night Football party and the kids were gobbling it up.

Apple Sausage Stuffing

If your kids are Stove Top stuffing fans, this is not it. This is a hearty stuffing that full flavored. I cringed at first thought of apples in my stuffing, but man is it good paired with the sausage and spice. I don't care for apples in my sourdough stuffing, so it because a toss up over which one I make. With enough family and friend celebrations, I often get to make both.

6 c Day old multi-grain bread, cubed
6 c Day old white bread, cubed
1 lb Ground Sausage
1/2 c Celery, diced
1/2 c Onion, diced
1 c Chicken broth
1 T Olive Oil
1 T Sage, dried
1 T Parsley, dried
2 t Sea salt
1 t Pepper
1 c Apple, peeled and chopped

Brown sausage and set aside. Reserve 1 T of dripping to saute onions and celery in until soft. Toss together bread, onions, celery, sausage, sage, parsley, salt, pepper, and apples. Place in a lightly sprayed 9 X13 pan and slowly pour broth over mixture. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top to help create the crisp top texture. Bake on 350 degrees for 20-30, or until the top crisps.

Cheesy Chicken (or Turkey) & Rice Soup

My sister-in-law Stacey got us all hooked on this wonderful soup. Works great to use up leftovers from Thanksgiving or weekday meals. It also freezes well. It makes a big batch, so we eat on it for a couple of days or freeze half of it. If it thickens too much upon standing (rice absorbs liquid), just add a little chicken stock or milk to get the desired consistency.

1 c Diced celery
1 c Diced carrots
1/2 c Diced onion
2 T Oil
5 c Water
6.2 oz Quick cooking Long Grain Wild Rice w/season packet
2 c Chopped cooked chicken (or turkey)
8 oz Velveta, cubed
10 oz Chopped broccoli
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

Sautee celery and carrots for 5 minutes in oil. Add water and seasoning packet. Bring to a boil.
Add rice, cover and cook for 5 – 10 minutes.
Add broccoli and chicken. Bring to a boil.
Add cheese and soup, stir constantly for 5 minutes.