Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Super easy, yummy appetizer or side dish

1 tablespoon olive oil

16 spears fresh asparagus, trimmed

16 slices of prosciutto

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with olive oil
2. Wrap one slice of prosciutto around each asparagus spear, starting at the bottom and spiraling up to the tip.  Place on baking sheet.
3. Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and shake pan back and forth to roll the spears over.  Return to over for another 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender.  Serve immediately.

Summer Garden Tortelloni

Courtesy of Gourmet Magazine

1 (8 oz) package of cheese tortelloni

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into strips

2 cups corn (from the cob but I have used canned or frozen))

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 medium tomatoes

1/2 c. chopped basil

1. Cook tortelloni according to package instructions
2. While tortelloni boils, cook garlic, prosciutto, corn, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes
3. Meanwhile, chop tomatoes
4. Combine corn mixture and tomatoes in a large bowl.
5. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain tortelloni and add to vegetables along with reserved cooking water and basil.  Toss well and serve.

Cream Cheese Drop Cookies

Preheat oven to 375

Mix :
1 stick of Crisco 
1 package of cream cheese

Add and mix in:
1 cup of sugar
2 egg yolks
1teaspoon vanilla extract

Add and mix in:
2 cups of sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt

Use small spoon to scoop out quarter sized amount of batter and place on cookie sheet.  Can use sprinkles to decorate (put on before baking).  Bake for 8 minutes (or until the bottoms are lightly brown).  

Sugar Cookies

Cream together:

1 cup Margarine or Butter

1 ½ cup Sugar

Add:

3 Eggs

1 tsp. Almond Extract

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Mix then add:

½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Soda

4 ½ cups Flour

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Roll out (thick, about ¼ inch) and cut out shapes

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes

Frosting:

1/3 cup Milk

1 envelope Dream Whip

1 lb. Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. Flavoring (Butter or vanilla)

3 Tbsp. Margerine or Butter

Beat Like crazy until fluffy. If too dry can add more milk and if too wet add more sugar. Use paste colors (available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby) to keep frosting consistency (liquid coloring can water it down too much)

Blueberry Oat Scones

Courtesy Bon Appetit Magazine, July 2009

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 T plus 1 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. coarse kosher salt
11 T (1 stick + 3 T) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup + 3 T old-fashioned oats
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1.75 cups chilled half-n-half
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 tsp raw/turbinado sugar

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter. Using pulse, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to large bowl. Add 1 cup oats and blueberries; stir to blend evenly.

Stir half-n-half and vanilla in small bowl. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing until dough just comes together (dough will be very moist).

Using 1/2-cup measuring cup for each scone (NOTE: I used less to make more scones), drop dough in mounds onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 T oats, then raw sugar.

Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking another 15 minutes or until scones are golden and tester inserted into center from the side comes out clean. Transfer scones to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temp.

Makes about 12-16 scones.

Lemon Bars

The original recipe is from Cooks Illustrated

I made these bars for a few of you post-baby. The original recipe contains juice and zest from lemons, limes, and oranges, but I prefer unadulterated lemon.

Makes sixteen 2-inch bars

Crust:
5 ounces animal crackers
3 Tbl packed brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 Tbl unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling:
2 ounces cream cheese, room temp
About 4 Tbl grated lemon zest (TIP: zest before juicing lemons)
Pinch of salt
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
1 egg yolk
About 8 Tbl. fresh lemon juice


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch-square baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. TO MAKE THE CRUST: In workbowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until broken down, about ten 1-second pulses; process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups crumbs). Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, ten to twelve 1-second pulses (if large sugar lumps remain, break them apart with fingers). Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

3. TO MAKE THE FILLING: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zests, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add juices and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

4. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.5. Loosen edges with paring knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions; cut bars into 16 squares. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using, and serve. (Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days; crust will soften slightly. Let bars stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.)

Crock pot chicken with black beans and cream cheese

I found this online and tried it last night. I served it over brown rice and it was a hit. Super easy to make and it helped me get rid of some canned things in my pantry.

Ingredients
4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can corn
1 (15 ounce) jar salsa, any kind
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
Directions
1Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
2add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.
3Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
4Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.
5All done and enjoy!

Here is the link it came from so I am not claiming the credit: http://www.recipezaar.com/Crock-Pot-Chicken-W-Black-Beans-and-Cream-Cheeseyum-89204

Black Bottom Mini-Cupcakes

Thanks for setting this up Sara!

Here's a recipe I just got from my sis in San Diego. She says they are AMAZING and not to be put off by the strange inclusion of vinegar!

Black Bottom Mini-Cupcakes Recipe

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1 large egg

• 1/3 cups sugar

• .

• Cupcake Batter:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup water

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (we used canola)

• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• .

• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.

In a small bowl, blend cream cheese, egg, and 1/3 cup sugar until smooth. Set aside.

In a nonreactive large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and 1 cup sugar. Stir in water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Fill paper-lined cups about 1/2 full. Top each with about a half teaspoon cream cheese mixture. Press 2 chocolate chips into cream cheese on each cupcake. Bake in center of oven 14 minutes, or until firm. Cheese filling will still be a bit soft.

Cool completely before serving.

Yield: about 60 mini-cupcakes

For standard cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Prepare filling and batter as above. Fill paper-lined cups about 1/2 full. Top each with about a tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Press 3 to 4 chocolate chips into cream cheese on each cupcake. Bake in center of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until firm. Cheese filling will still be a bit soft.

Yield: 24 cups (or cupcakes)

Summer Bounty Pasta

Courtesy Silver Palette Cookbook

4-6 large ripe tomatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 lb Brie, rind removed and torn into pieces

1 cup (or more!) fresh basil leaves, cut into strips

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 cup olive oil (the best you have)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1.5 lbs linguine

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Combine tomatoes, brie, basil, garlic, olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Cover and set aside at room temperature for at least two hours.

Add pasta to boiling water with a little oil and salt and cook until al dente.

Drain pasta and immediately toss with tomato mixture. Serve at once with the parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Our First Post!

Hi Everyone! I hope you like the name and look of the blog; please send me suggestions for changes. I am the administrator of the blog, but I've sent invitations to you so all of you can be contributors, so we'll see how this works. Surely we will have to work out some bugs but I think this will be fun once we get it up and going!

I think it would be great to post some recipes, but we shouldn't limit it to just recipes. For example, I could talk about how my daughter likes to get up for the day before 5am. Why? I have no idea, but maybe some of you have ideas on how to change this habit! I can tell you that I've started to develop a Zen-like attitude toward the early mornings. Reese and I have time to bond before the household wakes up. She cruises around the playroom while I knit and listen to NPR, and every now and then she crawls onto my lap for a cuddle. So, I'm tired but it's a sweet time, and I know that someday she'll be 16 and want to sleep in until lunchtime.

Back to the blog. Hopefully the directions for posting seem clear once you create a Google account (if you don't already have one) and log in to the Blogger website. You add a title for your post, text for your post, and labels if you have one. Labels are nice because they organize the posts once we have a lot of them. For example, if you post a recipe for a gourmet dinner, label it Gourmet and then anyone who is looking for a gourmet dinner recipe can just click on that label (I think they should show up on the sidebar) and all of the posts with this label will appear.

Here are some suggestions for labels: Gourmet meals, Kid-friendly meals, Fast & easy meals, Rants, Kid tips, etc. Use your imagination! Also, anyone can leave comments under each post, so that's a good way to get a conversation going. If you want to receive e-mails when someone comments or posts you need to "Subscribe" -- see the link on the sidebar.

Finally, if other Highland Mommies find this blog and want to be a contributor please let me know.

OK, let's get this thing going ...
Sara