I have been blessed to be surrounded by a large family. I've always have the luxury of knowing that I was loved and had someone in my corner. Over the years I've lost some of the most wonderful people and would not have made it without the support of the great people in my life. Each one touch my life in such a deep and everlasting way that there are not words that can fully express what they meant to me.

Two of  those who I've lost passed on two great cookie recipes that my family has enjoyed making for years. I remember enjoying both of my grandmothers' cookies and looked forward to them every year. I would like to share their recipes with you in hopes they they will become a favorite of yours and bring you fond memories, also.

Paula's Family Sugar Cookie Recipe From Mama

Cookie Ingredients:
2 C All Purpose Flour                     2/3 C Shortening
3/4 tsp baking power                    2 Eggs
1/4 tsp salt                                       3/4 tsp Vanilla
3/4 C Sugar                                                                                                            

Let's Bake!
1.    Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
2.    Sift dry ingredients together into large bowl.
3.    Cut in shortening.
4.    Add eggs & vanilla, mix well.
5.    Roll out very thin on floured board and cut with floured cookie cutter(s).
6.    Place cookies on Greased or parchment lined cookie sheet & Bake for 9 - 12 minutes, until edges are just starting to brown. Transfer to rack to cool.

​Icing Ingredients:
1 1/2 C Sifted Confectioners Sugar                                                     1 Tbsp Milk
Food Coloring
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Let's Decorate!
1.    Sift Confectioners Sugar into a bowl & Add milk. Stir until smooth.
2.    Divide into separate bowls & Color as desired.
3.    Spread icing onto cooled cookies & Add any decorations you want.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies
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Paula's Family Italian Cookie Recipe From Teta

Cookie Ingredients:
12 - 14 C All Purpose King Arthur Flour                                               2 C Milk
10 Tbls Baking Powder                                                                            1/4 C Vanilla
2 Tbls salt                                                                                                   2 C Olive Oil
12 Eggs                                                                                                        2 C Sugar

Let's Bake!
1.    Preheat oven 375 degrees F
2.    Sift flour and set aside.
2.    You will need a very large bowl to make this recipe. Into it using a large sturdy spoon mix eggs, milk, vanilla, oil, sugar, and salt. 
3.    Mix in baking powder two tablespoons at a time. Make sure that it is fully incorporated before adding the next two.
4.    Stir sifted flour two cups at a time into wet ingredients. Mixing completely between each addition. Check dough after 12 cups. You should be able to roll the dough into "ropes" with floured hands.
4.    If dough is to sticky, add more flour.
6.    Roll and shape pieces of dough into any shape you like. My favorite growing up were the candy cane shaped ones.
7.    Place cookies on greased cookie sheet & bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until edges are just starting to brown. Transfer to rack to cool.

We have always mixed these by hand.

​Icing Ingredients:
1 Box of Confectioners Sugar                                                     Milk
Food Coloring                                                                                 Sprinkles
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Let's Decorate!
1.    Sift confectioners sugar into a bowl & add milk. I start with 1 box of sugar and add 1/4 cup milk. Stir until smooth. Then, I add a small amount of milk until it is just thin enough that I can dip the cookie tops in.  
2.    Divide icing into separate bowls & color as desired.
3.    Dip cooled cookies into icing & add any decorations you want. Put cookies on paper bags or wire racks until the icing sets up.

Makes 5 pounds of cookies
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Paula's No Bake Cheesecake Recipe

This recipe is a favorite of my children. One year they ate 3 of these!

I've made this recipe and poured it into those little mini phyllo (fillo) cups to take to parties. You can change it up by substituting the vanilla with other extracts and also caramelizing the sweetened condensed milk makes for a delicious caramel cheesecake.

Ingredients:
8 oz Cream Cheese                                                           1/3 C Lemon Juice
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk                                1 tsp Vanilla
Graham Cracker Pie Crust            

Let's Bake!
1.    Cream the cheese until light and fluffy. When you think it's light and fluffy do it for another minute.
2.    Add the milk and mix on high until smooth.
3.    Add the lemon juice and vanilla, mix again until smooth. 
4.    Immediately pour into pie crust and chill at least two hours.
5.    Cut and Serve with your favorite topping.

I've always used a hand held mixer for this recipe, measured all my ingredients and had everything open and ready before starting to mix. If using a stand mixer you may need to power it down one speed so that things don't fly out the bowl.

I received some great spices from Kazu and wanted to share some recipe ideas with you.
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Ginger root, with its ancient history and immense health benefits, has been hailed by many cultures as a spice of the heavens.

It is the most widely used and available herbal remedy on the planet, with billions of people using it every day as both food and medicine.

I really enjoyed the flavor that this ginger added to my Teriyaki Ginger Chicken. I gave some to my Aunt for making her Ginger tea. She said with just a bit of honey it made a perfect cup of tea that she thoroughly enjoyed.

Check Out My Recipe Below!
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About Kazu ® 100% Organic Certified

• Their Ginger Powder is made from Sri Lanka finest ginger roots. The ginger roots are dried and then pulverized into powder.
• 100% USDA Certified Organic and grown with sustainable organic methods.
• 80 mesh (for more fine texture) and Grade A quality ginger root with a spicy and strong flavor.
• Add Ginger Powder to boiled water to make tea or use it to flavor your food as a spice. You may use it to prepare snacks, candies, bread, soup, meat and vegetable dishes.
• Ginger powder is loaded with essential oils such as gingerol and zingerone. Also, it contains minerals including copper, potassium and magnesium.

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​Ginger Teriyaki Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

• 1⁄2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
• 1/4 teaspoon Ginger Root Powder
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup green onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons oil, divided
• 1 (14 ounce) package frozen asian-style vegetables
• 1 lb chicken thigh, boneless and skinless, cut into 2 x 1/2-inch slices
• 1 (14 ounce) can bean sprouts, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stir together teriyaki sauce, pineapple with juice, ginger, garlic and green onion in small saucepan.
2. Heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large skillet or wok over high heat.
4. Cook and stir vegetables about 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.
5. Remove from skillet; set aside.
6. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet.
7. Cook and stir chicken about 4 minutes or until no longer pink.
8. Add cooked vegetables back to skillet.
9. Stir in bean sprouts, water chestnuts and prepared sauce; heat through.
10. Serve over rice or noodles.

I made this the other night substituting the frozen vegetables for some fresh broccoli, carrots, onion, zucchini, and yellow squash that I had in the refrigerator. I just cut them into bite size pieces and cooked until they were tender but still firm like we like them.
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Turmeric is an old Indian spice with a peppery, warm and bitter flavor and a mild fragrance slightly reminiscent of orange and ginger. 

​It contains a powerful medicinal compound called Curcumin and has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in both the Chinese and Indian medicine.

To get the health benefits that this spice offers I like to add it to many of my dishes. Some of my favorites are gravy, rice, fried chicken, and stir fry. I also add it to both my store bought and homemade pickles. I loved the nice peppery taste that this turmeric offered and would recommend adding it to any dish that you want to have or don't mind having a yellow tint. ​

Check Out My Recipe Below!
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About Kazu ® 100% Organic Ceylon Ground (Curcumin) 

• Kazu ® 100% Organic Ceylon turmeric has a sharper aroma and finer taste than the more common turmeric. Ceylon turmeric is grounded from the finer Curcuma Longa plant in Sri Lanka, while other turmeric is grounded from cheaper plants in China and India.
• Kazu ® Organic High Purity Tumeric has higher purity and 80 mesh so it is much finer and pure than other brands.
• Their Tumeric can be used in curries, meat and vegetable dishes, and soups.
• Ceylon Tumeric can also be added to baked products, yogurt,juices,bread, gelatins and more.

Homemade ​Bread and Butter Pickles

INGREDIENTS:

• 25 cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 6 onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup pickling salt or Kosher salt (regular table salt has additives in it that will turn the pickles dark and muddy the color of the pickle juice)

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• 3 cups cider vinegar
• 5 cups white sugar
• 2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, garlic, and salt.  Leave enough room to cover the bowl with a thin towel (not the fuzzy kind) and add an inch or two of ice on top of the towel. Allow to stand approximately 3 - 4 hours.
2. In a large saucepan, mix the cider vinegar, white sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves and turmeric. Bring to a boil.
3. Drain liquid from the cucumber mixture and rinse. I rinse mine 3 times.
4. Add the cucumbers to the liquid in the saucepan. Bring to a boil again.
5. Transfer cucumbers to sterile containers. Top with liquid leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving or PROCESS in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.
6. For best flavor, allow pickles to stand for 4-6 weeks.

I did a small batch Saturday without onions to use up some left over cucumbers from my parents anniversary party.
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Cinnamon is used to help treat muscle spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, infections, the common cold, loss of appetite, and erectile dysfunction (ED).
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It may even lower blood sugar in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

With the baking season fast approaching it was time to make my favorite go to spices. For me it's both apple and pumpkin pie spice. I use them in more than just my pies since they add great flavor to egg nog, sweet potatoes, baked apples, cobblers, and more. This was my first time trying Ceylon Cinnamon and I really enjoyed the intense sweet flavor  that this cinnamon offers. Even my boyfriend was able to notice a difference when I put some on his sweet potato the other night. I am going to be making some cinnamon butter and using it for everything that I can think of to add it to! ​

Check Out My DIY Recipes Below!
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About Kazu ® 100% Organic Herb Powdered

• Kazu ® Organic Ceylon Cinnamon has a sharper aroma and sweeter taste than the more common cassia cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is known as the "truth cinnamon", while cassia cinnamon is known as the more common and cheaper variety.
• Kazu ® Ceylon Cinnamon is loaded with anti-oxidants including poly-phenols. Cinnamon also has anti-inflammatory properties.
• Kazu ® Ceylon Cinnamon is made from the tree barks of Cinnamomun. The bark is extracted and when it dries, cinnamon sticks form , which are then pulverized to make cinnamon powder.
• Ceylon Cinnamon is loaded with anti-oxidants including poly-phenols. Cinnamon also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Homemade Apple Pie Spice

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 dash cardamom (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients in small, sealable container and mix together. Use as directed in recipes that call for apple pie spice.
2. Store in a dry place, up to 6 months.

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​Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

INGREDIENTS​

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients in small, sealable container and mix together. Use as directed in recipes that call for pumpkin pie spice.
2. Store in a dry place, up to 6 months.

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Homemade Cinnamon Butter

INGREDIENTS

• 1⁄2 cup sweet cream butter (softened, salted)
• 1⁄3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, with a handmixer, beat butter till fluffy.
2. Add confectioner's sugar a little at a time, blending well.
3. Add cinnamon to mixture and blend well.
4. Scoop into a small container-serve immediately or refrigerate.

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​This spicy seasoning can boost your metabolism, ease indigestion, and even fend off garden pests.

With cooler weather quickly approaching it's time to start thinking about making your favorite chili. I did just that using this great organic chili powder. It added a hearty and robust flavor to my pot plus I only had to use about half the amount that I normally do with the one that I get off the shelf at my local grocery store. I am very please with the taste and quality of this product. 

Check Out My Recipe Below!
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About Kazu ® 100% Organic Certified (Extra-Hot)

• 100% USDA Certified Organic and grown with sustainable organic methods.
• Grade A quality chili powder. 80 mesh powder instead of 60 mesh powder allows for maximum mixing into cooking.
• Cooking: Use it many different cuisines such as American, Tex-Mex, Chinese, and Korean. Use as a spice for these dishes to add pungency and piquancy.
• Over 40% of your recommended Vitamin A intake and about 8% of Vitamin C intake.

Homemade Easy Blue Ribbon Chili

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound fresh ground beef
• 1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney or pinto beans, drained
• 1 medium-large onion, chopped
• 1 (6 - 8 ounce) can or jar sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup chili powder (use less for milder chili)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use less for milder chili)

​DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onions
2. Drain off the fat
3. Put the beef mixture and the remaining ingredients in a 6-quart pot
4. Cover the pot and let the chili simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. You can also cook in a slow cooker on low for 3 to 4 hours.

I like to top mine with a bit of green onion and shredded cheese.
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A new brand of baking mixes that promises of flavor, texture and quality that no other gluten-free baking mixes can offer. 

Artisan Cooking Supply
Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mats
Make For
Easier Food Cooking!
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Details:

• HOLIDAY baking season is here. Get your mats in time for the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas baking season. Save yourself tons of time with the easy to clean baking mat.
• IMAGINE baking with your kids and the feeling of triumph at their success. Our kids love using this mat with the easy placement hearts.
• SAVE MONEY NOW. Compared to the price of a single roll of parchment paper you can have this resuable mat that has 3000+ uses. Saves the environment and your wallet.
• KNOW you are protected with their lifetime guarantee. 60 Day -  100% Money back.
• Cooking mat is FDA approved, LFBG Food Safe, RoHS Green, and ISO 9001 certified. 
  
• Measurements and Images for Easy Rolling and Layout of Foods. 
  
• Safe for Temperatures from -40°F to 450°F (-40°C to 230°C) 
  
• Safe for use in the Oven, Microwave, Freezer, and Dishwasher 
  

My Thoughts:
​I have several mats for my smaller baking pans and always use them when I cook in oven with those pans for a fast easy clean up. However, I recently received a new 13 X 18 sheet pan and did not have a larger mat for it so I was thrilled that the Artisan Cooking Supply mat fit it perfectly (see picture). We are throwing my parents a fiftieth anniversary party and have already started doing all the baking for the party plus with the holidays just around the corner this mat is a great time, money, and pan saver. Now that I have switched to nonstick skillets and have non stick baking mats for my pans, I no longer purchase parchment paper or non-stick spray. I love silicone mats because can cook whatever I want and my pans stay newer looking longer without having to scrub them like a mad woman. 

Outback Steakhouse's Aussie Cheese Fries
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I found this awesome copycat recipe on Diary of a Recipe Collector and have adapted it for my needs:

1 bag of Ore Ida “Simply” Olive Oil-Sea Salt Country Style Fries
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
5 slices bacon
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup to 1 cup good-quality Ranch or Honey Mustard dressing
salt and pepper
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Heat oven to 425. Spread fries onto baking sheet with a silicone mat on it. Bake according to package directions. Cook bacon until crispy in skillet and chop.  When fries are crispy, remove from oven, season with salt and pepper. Pile fries into the center of the pan. Top with shredded cheese and bacon. Put back in oven for another 3-5 minutes to melt cheese. Remove and top with green onions. Serve with dressing on the side.
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It's not summer until you've had fried green tomatoes!

I've canned so many jars of tomatoes this year that they are two cases sitting at my dinning room table. Waiting for me to use some of what I have in cupboards to make room for them. But I hadn't taken the time to fry up some of the green ones that I had picked from the garden until today. My neighbors were generous enough to share some of their eggs with me so I used some guinea hen eggs to make my tomatoes.

You can also fry up red tomatoes with this easy recipe but make sure they are not over ripe or they will be mushy.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

Directions:

1.  Slice tomatoes 1/4 inch thick. Discard the ends.

2.  Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl.

3.  Scoop flour onto a plate or large bowl.

4.  Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate or large bowl. I like a bit of spice so I used Hot & Spicy bread crumbs. You can also add a bit red or cayenne pepper to the mixture if you want to add some heat.

5.  Pour oil into a large skillet or saucepan and heat to 350 degrees. I used coconut oil but you can use any oil that you like. I prefer to use a saucepan with about an inch of oil and do 3 tomato slices at a time.

6.  Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. 
7.  Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture.
8.  Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.

9.  Place tomatoes into the pan in batches of 3 to 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side.
10.  Drain on paper towels and sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.

ENJOY!!!!

I had some apples that needed to be used so I came up with this recipe to use them. The small ramekin makes it is the perfect size for portion control, children, and parties.