Snickerdoodles

I made these for my brother because a couple of years ago, after knowing my brother for all 30-ish years of my life, he announced that Snickerdoodles are his favorite cookie.

It was one of the most random things I had ever heard him say.

Snickerdoodles?  I mean, whose favorite cookie is that, anyway?

My brother's.  Apparently.

This was news to me.  But good news, since I like Snickerdoodles.  They're fun to say and super yummy to eat.

So I made these for a family gathering at my aunt's house.  I took a plate piled high of Snickerdoodles.  I waved them under my brother's nose and then sat them on the dessert table.

Nearly immediately, the plate of freshly baked cookies were totally demolished.  My brother got approximately one cookie + a stray crumb out of the entire mound of cookies I took.  That's all that was left.

You can't dawdle in our family.  If you want something, you'd better grab it.

Otherwise it's gone.

But, of the one cookie + stray crumb he got to sample, my brother said these were the best Snickerdoodles he'd ever had and that I should blog the recipe.

That's a high compliment.  And that's why I'm blogging this recipe.

Snickerdoodles
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
Heaping 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon

Cream together the butter and sugar for several minutes in a mixer until creamy and totally combined.  Add the eggs and combine.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir (mixer on low) until just combined.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything is combined.

Combine the cinnamon & sugar in a bowl.  Use a cookie scoop to make cookie dough balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Place on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper) and bake in a 350 degree oven for 6-8 minutes.  Do not overbake!

Creamy Spring Vegetable Soup

I know I've told you about the Greentree Tea Room.  It's a wonderful Lexington gem.

Lexington has lots of gems, you know.  But this post is about Greentree.  And its amazing soups.

See, when you go to Greentree, they serve one menu for the entire month.  It changes every month.  And every month is equally unique and delicious.

They always start you out with a bowl of soup.  I've had about six of their soups (meaning I've eaten there six different months of the year) and I've loved every single one of them.

The second course is a scone served with some type of fruit curd (April was blueberry curd…there are no words) and Fayette Cream.

You'll just have to make your own reservation at Greentree to find out what Fayette Cream is.

So the last time I had the pleasure of lunching at the Greentree, they sat this bowl of creamy spring vegetable soup in front of me.

It. Was. Divine.

So I came home and tried to make it.  It went pretty well, I'd say.  My family actually loved it.  They've never actually been to the Greentree (my husband wouldn't set foot in the place…totally a girl spot…and my kids are entirely too young.  I go there to get away from my children).  So my family has never had the real thing, but they did love my copycat version.

I was happy with it.  And I'm already planning when I can return to the tea room.  May's a new month with a new menu!  Fortunately, every menu has Fayette Cream on it.

Creamy Spring Vegetable Soup
Copycat recipe from the Greentree Tea Room

3 T butter
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, small-diced
3 T flour
1/2 cup rice
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 cup hari coverts, chopped into bite-sized pieces (tiny green beans; I used Trader Joe's from the freezer)
1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
1 cup petite peas (I used frozen)
1 cup heavy cream

Saute the onions and carrots in the butter in a medium pot over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, until tender.  Sprinkle in the flour and rice and stir around for about a minute.  Add the stock, salt, pepper and turmeric and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 25-30 minutes, until the rice is tender.  Add the hari coverts, corn and peas and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add cream.  Stir well and serve immediately.

Creamy Spinach & Orzo

I made this the other night as a side dish with some salmon...it was awesome.

I just love orzo, and I had some spinach I needed to use.

The creamy combo was just delicious!

Creamy Spinach & Orzo

1 T butter
1 onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T flour
1 cup milk
5 oz. package spinach, chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 cups cooked orzo (about 1 cup uncooked)
3/4 cup romano cheese (or parmesan)

Saute the onion in the butter for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Stir in the flour.  Add the milk and spinach and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Serve immediately.

Fruit Salad with Yogurt Poppyseed Dressing

Spring is here.  My peonies have come out of the ground.  I was so happy to see them!  I can't wait until they bloom.

I carried white peonies down the aisle.  My bridesmaids carried pink peonies down the aisle.  Our groomsmen wore the nearly-opened buds of pink peonies on their tuxes.

Do I even need to tell you that it was beautiful.

And so it's only fitting that we have an entire row of pink peonies in our front yard.  I think we have 11 right now, which is perfect because our 11th anniversary is approaching.  I may need to add more this year.

I may cover my entire yard with them.

Anyway.  On to this fruit salad.  It was very fresh and springy and I ate an entire bowl of it for dinner because I was uninterested in the actual meal I had prepared for my family.

Should I blame my strange behavior on pregnancy?  Hormones?  Maybe I was tired?  Maybe I had done laundry that day.  I could keep going with my list of excuses but it doesn't really matter.

Who knows. Who cares.  This fruit salad was delicious and a big hit.  Will make it again.  You should too.

Fruit Salad with Yogurt Poppyseed Dressing

8 cups cut-up fruit (I used a combo of oranges, bananas, strawberries, apples & grapes)
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (I used fat-free)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
1 T sugar
1 T poppyseeds
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Toss the fruit together in a bowl.  Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the fruit about 20 minutes before serving.

Avocado-Mango Salsa

In an effort to make up for my complete lack of culinary creativity that has lasted...well, my entire pregnancy, I made avocado-mango salsa tonight.

Oh my word! I think I made up some serious ground.  It was amazingly flavorful.  I served it on blackened salmon, but seared salmon would be great.  And jerk chicken would be fabulous.  This would be great on chips as an alternative to pico.

People, this salsa was so good.  My husband and I were eating it with a spoon while the salmon cooked.

And I have virtually no pictures because things were a little wild around my house.

We had just gotten home from the girls' swimming lessons, this boy:

was bent on following me around the kitchen, sticking his head up my dress (his new favorite game) (it's apparently hilarious), and the girls were really hungry.  Plus, the girls were cold and trying to change from their bathing suits into their pajamas and my husband had just gotten home from work!  And did I mention that Teddy was WILD.

This one.

Have I mentioned that my puppy is almost one?!?  How does a year go so fast?

So anyway, all that to say...I didn't get many salsa pictures.  But you know how to make salsa.  Just do it.  So delicious.  So simple.  So healthy.

I'm so proud.

For aesthetic reasons, I thought the salsa needed something red - like a finely diced red pepper or a tomato.  But I was in a hurry, so here's what I came up with.  Feel free to add something red.  The flavor was totally awesome without anything else, but I just thought I'd share my red thoughts with you.

Avocado-Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, peeled and diced
2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely diced
Juice of 2 limes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, minced (about 1/2 cup minced leaves)

Toss ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Serve immediately.

Roasted Vegetable & Orzo Salad with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette

I made this salad awhile ago and it was AWESOME!  I'll definitely make it again.  Probably soon.  The leftovers were as good as it was fresh.  My whole family loved it.  I can't believe I haven't blogged it until now!  No excuses.

Since I'm not going to make up an excuse for myself and my lack of blog posting, I'll tell you about the afternoon wherein I almost went postal at Target.

I just have a question: have you been to Target lately?  What has happened to this store???  It used to be a nice alternative to Wal-Mart (for about a zillion reasons...you fill in the blanks).  Now it's like Wal-Mart's red-headed step-child.

So I ran to Target because I need a cupcake carrier (yes, I know.  It was an actual need, despite how it might sound.) and I needed a heap of things for my MOPS group.

When I got to Target, there were no 3-seat carts available (you know the really huge carts where two kids can sit in the back and then the third child sits in the usual child seat in the cart.  Those carts are a total lifesaver for me and anyone else with three or more children.).  Fine.  A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  I put my boy in the cart and let the girls run wild.

You think I'm joking.

So then I proceed to be able to find approximately nothing on my list without asking an employee, who may or may not have known where the item was located.  While shopping, I ran across someone using one of the 3-seat carts that I DESPERATELY NEEDED.  How many children did this couple have with them?  ONE.

Three seats.  One child.

I had three children.  One seat.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???

I may or may not have given the dad the evil eye as I walked past him.  He was casually pushing his ONE CHILD in the cart made for three children while I wrangled my three children who were, as I mentioned, running wild.

My luck continued at checkout.  I somehow managed to choose the a cashier on his first day of work.

Said cashier was living proof that Target has tossed employee training to the wind.  Help us all.

I won't give you all the details, but let me just use the Southern catch-all: bless his heart.  While I waited for him to come up with my total, my sweet baby boy emptied the checkout lane of its merchandise.  On both sides.  Candy, toys, trinkets, mini-lint rollers, chapstick...  The woman behind me was giving me about the same look that I gave the one-child-three-seat-cart-couple.

Whatever.

And THEN, when I put my sweet baby boy back into the cart, he proceeded to fill his diaper with sewage.  Then he opened several of the items I was trying desperately to purchase.  Unfortunately my cashier missed the day they taught "how to check a customer out" in Target cashier training school.

AND THEN the brand-new cashier apparently thought it would be a good time to ask me if I wanted a bag for the approximately 29 items I purchased.

I'm just the wrong person to ask that question and this was most certainly the wrong afternoon to ask it.  Do I look like someone who is concerned about the environment?  I'm just trying to get to my van with all of my children and at least most of the things I paid for today.  Um, yes. A bag would be helpful, thanks.

Did I look like the kind of person that carries around those germ-infested reusable bags?

Not a chance, dude.  I don't drive a Subaru and I have too many children to keep up with a passel of dirty, scrubby-looking reusable bags.

Next time I have the urge to go to Target, I'll just make this salad and place an order on Amazon.

Roasted Vegetable & Orzo Salad

1 eggplant, peeled

1 red bell pepper

2 zucchini

1 large sweet onion

4 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

8 oz. orzo pasta (about 1 1/4 cups uncooked pasta)

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 T prepared pesto 

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Chop the veggies into a small-dice.  Toss the veggies together with the salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil on a large baking sheet.  Roast at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  Use a spatula to toss the veggies once about halfway through.

Allow the veggies to come to room temperature while you make the orzo.  Cook the orzo according to the package directions in salted boiling water.  Drain and pour pasta into a large bowl.  Add the veggies.

Whisk together the vinaigrette and pour over the veggies and pasta.  Toss to coat.  Crumble in the feta cheese and add the pine nuts.  Stir to combine and serve at room temperature (can serve chilled as well).

Pear & Pomegranate Salad

I'm sorry.  There's just no way I can do justice to this salad.

No amount or quality of pictures can even come close to the fabulous flavor and texture of this salad.

It's a shame that I can't tell you how amazing this salad is, so you'll just have to trust me and make it for yourself.

It's one of the best things I've ever eaten.  In my life.

My mom got this recipe from a friend, and my mom has been making it all winter.

I can't get enough!

The pomegranate seeds (or arils, if you're fancy) pop with juice and sweetness and tartness, the pistachios are crunchy, the pears are sweet and fresh, the feta is salty, and the dressing...

Oh, the dressing.

Wow.

Pear & Pomegranate Salad
Adapted from Food 52

4 cups baby arugula
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
Seeds from 1 pomegranate
2 pears, cubed
1/2 cup pistachios, toasted
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
2 shallots
2 T pomegranate molasses (can be found at Whole Foods or specialty market; can substitute pomegranate juice)
3 T apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  For the dressing, puree dressing ingredients in a food processor until thick and smooth.  About 10 minutes before serving, pour the dressing on top and toss to coat.

Nutella Cookies

Do you like Nutella?  If your answer is "no" or "I've never tried it," then I don't even know what to say.  Consider me speechless.

Nutella!  I could sing a song about it.  But that would frighten you, so I won't.  This stuff is dangerous.  Maybe even deadly.

And my life has been complete since Sam's started carrying jumbo-sized containers of it!

I don't generally bake with the chocolaty-hazelnut spread.  Because it's just so good right out of the jar...on a graham cracker...or a spoon...or your finger...

But I digress.

I tried these cookies and WOW.  They are amazing.  Totally Nutella-y.  Perfectly so.  And the peanut butter flavor isn't overwhelming; it gives a bit of flavor and just enough structure to hold the cookies in a perfect mound.

This is one Nutella cookie recipe worth trying.  They're really delicious.

And a note about the batter: it's the weirdest consistency I've ever seen with cookie dough.  Totally weird, a little oily, seems like it'll never work and actually bake into a cookie.  But it does!  Somehow, it works.  Amazingly.  Try it.

I mean, what's not to love?

Fudgy Nutella Cookies
Adapted from Averie Cooks

3/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 T butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips (or a combo semi-sweet/milk chocolate)

Place the Nutella, peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on high for about 5 minutes, until the ingredients are completely incorporated.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium-low speed until just combined (don't overmix at this point).

The batter will be oily and an odd consistency.  You're on the right track.  Scoop mounds on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9-10 minutes (they will look slightly underdone when you take them out but will set up as they cool).

Cherry Cobbler

My husband loves cherries.  Artificial cherries, cherry flavoring, real cherries...you name it.  He loves it all.

I love almond extract and everything you can put it in.

Cherries and almond extract got married.

This is the result.

It is so easy and so good.

Whose idea was it to pour a dry cake mix over some fruit and call it cobbler?  I'd like to meet the person.

You can definitely use any fruit you want.  Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, pears (do I need to go on?).  I might not use bananas though.

Just sayin'.

I don't think I have anything else to say about this dessert except that it's screaming for a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Unfortunately, I don't like vanilla ice cream unless it's on top of a warm brownie or, in this case, warm cherry cobbler.

I'm more of a pralines & cream girl.

I digress. Make the cobbler. Yum.

Cherry Cobbler

2 one-pound bags sweet pitted cherries (I used the frozen ones from Kroger - excellent choice)
1 cup sugar
1 yellow cake mix (dry)
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
2 tsp almond extract

Pour the cherries (leave them frozen; it's fine) into a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle the sugar evenly on top.  Sprinkle the cake mix evenly on top.  Stir the almond extract into the melted butter and pour it in top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Beef & Barley Soup

Hi.  I've been absent for awhile.  I wonder on what I should blame my distraction.

Let's see...  Three kids?  With one on the way?  The fact that my oldest is in kindergarten?  The fact that I didn't know that kindergarten was such a big deal?  That I hope for enough snow to cancel school more than my 5-year-old?  (My child loves kindergarten.  And I love her school and teacher.  But school is a whole thing, ya know?  And I'm still adjusting.  Six months in.  I know.)  Or maybe I could blame my distractedness (spell check says that's not a word.  But I'm gonna roll with it.  Computers don't know everything, after all.) on my 9-month-old golden retriever.

He's so sweet.  Just look at that face.  He's also bad.  You wouldn't even believe what he's capable of.

Oh! And I also just read one of the best books eveh.  Unbroken.  Check it out at the library.  Order it from amazon.  Whatever.  Just get your hands on a copy and read it.  You won't be able to put it down.  Promise.

Where was I again?  Oh yeah.  I got distracted from telling you why I'd been distracted.  Um, maybe it's because all of the paint in my entry hall needs to be touched up (read: completely repainted).  Could everyone under 4' tall please KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE WALLS!?!  That is asking a lot, I know.

All that to say, I made this soup during December.  Sometime during that month.  It was cold, and I had barley in my pantry.  So I made this soup.  It was delicious.  Very hearty and satisfying.  Totally a guy soup, though I loved it too and my kids even scarfed it down!

It's nice and thick so it's easy for kids to scoop up.  I'm just not into brothy soups.  So if you are, add some more water or broth.  Then be sure to adjust the seasonings.

I adapted this recipe from Southern Lady.  Southern Lady is a great magazine.  It always has yummy recipes in it!

Beef & Barley Soup
Adapted from Southern Lady

2 T olive oil, divided
1 1/2 - 2 lbs beef stew meat, cubed
1 lb carrots, diced
6 stalks celery, diced
2 onions, diced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
15 oz. diced tomatoes
2 T Worcestershire sauce
6 cups beef stock
2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
1 T + 1 tsp garlic powder
5 sprigs fresh thyme (you can leave it on the stem and fish the stem out when the soup is done)
1 1/2 cups pearl barley

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat and add the beef.  Brown the meat on all sides and then remove and set aside.

Add onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.  Add the browned meat, garlic, and remaining ingredients EXCEPT FOR THE BARLEY and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce to low and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours (until the meat is fall-apart tender).

Stir in the barley and cook for another 30-35 minutes, until the barley is done.  Remove the thyme stems (the leaves will have fallen off during cooking) and serve.