Sugar Cookie Bars

Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat to 375. Sift together the flour, salt & baking soda to combine, and set aside. Spray a 9 x 13 cookie sheet (with raised sides) with non-stick spray. Put the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and turn on to cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar and mix until creamy, about two minutes. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Add vanilla. In three parts, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just to combine, scraping the bowl in between additions. Spread the dough in the 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 14 - 19 minutes, or until it is slightly golden around the edges. Leave in pan to cool, on a wire rack. When completely cool, spread with about 1 cup of frosting (recipe below), or to taste. Wait until frosting has set a bit before cutting, at least a half hour.

Buttercream Frosting this recipe makes a lot more than you'll need for this, but it stores really well in the frig. I just make it in big batches and save it for future use.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C solid white vegetable shortening
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
1/3 C + 2 tablespoons warm water
a 2 LB bag of confectioner's sugar

Add shortening to the electric mixer bowl and turn on to cream it. Add 1/2 the sugar and mix on low to combine (you'll certainly want your bowl's dust lid/shield thing on at this point!). Add the warm water and mix to a paste. Once it is creamed, add the rest of the sugar. Mix. Add the extract. Mix to combine completely, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then, turn mixer to high and beat to about 8 minutes. Store in the frig for up to 8 - 12 weeks (seriously!).

Magnolia's Banana Pudding

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)

• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding by Paula Deen

Ingredients:

2 bags of Pepperidge Farms Chessman Cookies (Nilla Wafers, or any cookies of your liking)

3-5 Bananas, sliced

2 cups cold milk (I use Non-Fat)

1 box of French Vanilla pudding (I use fat free/sugar free)

1 Eight Oz. Package of Cream Cheese (I use lowfat…nonfat is disgusting in this recipe)

1 Fourteen Oz. Can of Condensed Milk (again I use Fat Free/Sugar Free)

1 Twelve Oz. Container of Frozen Whipped Topping (Fat Free/Sugar Free Cool Whip)

Line bottom of 12×9x2 glass dish with cookies, then bananas.

Combine milk and pudding and let sit for five minutes or so.

In a seperate bowl (or your Kitchenaid) whip together cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Fold in whipped cream with pudding, then mix all together with cream cheese mixture until smooth and creamy. Pour into dish over cookies/bananas, then layer top with additional cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Alabama Fudge Cake

Alabama Fudge Cake

I whipped this up as a quick birthday cake for my new friend from Alabama. Quick and easy and, according to the boys, absolutely divine.

1 pkg devil's food cake mix (no pudding)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups hot water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream
Chopped pecans

Prepare cake batter according to directions on package. Pour into lightly greased cake pan (13x9 in).

Stir together sugar and next three ingredients; pour over batter (it will sink to bottom of pan). Don't stir.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve with ice cream and chopped pecans.

How to Cook a Steak

In fact, cooking steaks, and cooking them well, is exceedingly easy to do. Observe:

1. Take the steak out of the refrigerator, and rub it down with some olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper.

2. Put a skillet or saute pan in the oven, and heat the oven to 450 degrees.

3. Take the skillet out of the oven (don't forget the towel or oven mitt, rocket-boy; the skillet will be searingly hot) and place it on the stove, over high heat.

4. Put the steak in the middle of the skillet for four minutes.

5. Turn the steak over, and put the skillet back into the oven for five minutes.

6. Check for doneness - you can make a small incision (the rookie choice), use an instant-read thermometer (the techie choice - 130 degrees for medium rare), or poke it with your finger (the pro choice - learn how). Depending on your preferences, either leave the meat in for another minute or two, or pull it out.

7. Plate the steak, let it rest for 5-10 minutes so the juices redistribute evenly, then serve.

Runza in a Pan

1 lb hamburger
1 c. chopped onion
1 pkg. shredded cabbage
2 pkg.(8 roll) crescent rolls reduced fat
1 can crm of mushroom soup
6oz of shredded chz
A little bit of salt/ pepper & seasoning (any to your liking)

Brown hamb. & onion, remove from pan & ... Read More. Cook cabbage until soft. Stir all together meat mixture, cabbage, soup & your seasonings in pan. Press 1 pkg of rolls into bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour mixture over dough & sprinkle with chz. Unroll 2nd pkg of crescent rolls over top. Bake @ 375 for 10-15 min.
SOOOO GOOD!!!

perfect pumpkin cookies

2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening (1/2 butter, 1/2 Crisco)
1 can pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
*Cream sugar and shortening. Add pumpkin and vanilla.
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
6-12 oz. chocolate chips
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.