Soft & Fluffy Snickerdoodles

I think if someone were to ask me my first love, it would be Snickerdoodle cookies. I don't know, maybe salsa...

Nope, it's this cookie.

It just brings so many good memories to my mind. It's the cookie my Mom always made for me on rainy days, its smell generates instant comfort to anyone in its presence plus it's just beautiful & delicious in its simplicity. It doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles to be divine! So, here is one of my favorite recipes for this delightful cookie.

Soft & Fluffy Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 T. milk

2 3/4 c. flour

2 t. cream of tartar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

3 T. sugar

2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, vanilla & milk, mix well until combined. In a separate bowl, add dry ingredients & mix. Add to wet mixture and mix until combined.

In a small bowl, combine cinnamon & sugar. Roll dough by medium spoonful into balls, about 1 1/2 inch diameter), then roll into sugar mixture. Set on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

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New England Clam Chowder

I love the fall and winter season. I know I can say I love it because I live in Arizona and don't have to deal with snow and sleet. We have wonderful winters here where it gets cold (well, cold for us desert rats), but is still fairly warm & sunny throughout the day. I love soup & stews, casseroles & roasted foods most in the winter. It's just too scorching during the summer to fully enjoy these types of meals.

Clam Chowder is definitely a family favorite and this recipe hits the mark every time. There are NEVER any leftovers! My personal favorite is actually Manhattan Clam Chowder or as my family calls it, "the red kind", but "the white kind" is absolutely delicious and much loved in this house. This is sure to make the list for your family's soup night this winter.

New England Clam Chowder

adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

Serves 6-8

Note: You could add an extra can of minced clams if you like it meatier. One of my kids is a vegetarian so we keep it 2 cans.

2 X 6.5 oz. cans minced clams

2 T. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cups cubed red potatoes

2 carrots, diced

1/2 cup butter

1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 1/2 c. half and half

1 c. whole milk

1 1/2 t. salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 t. chopped thyme or 1/2 t. dried thyme

In a large stockpot or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion, celery and carrots. Season with salt and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add potatoes and enough water to just cover all vegetables. Cover pot and let cook about 10 minutes. Remove lid and make a well in the center of the pot and add butter letting it melt. Add flour and whisk to combine, letting it cook for 2 minutes. Add half and half, milk thyme and more salt & pepper to taste. Turn heat down to medium low and just let everyone mingle and get to know each other. About 15 minutes. Be careful not to let the milk/cream boil, you just want it at a gentle simmer. A few minutes before serving, add clams with their juices and let it heat through. Season more if needed.

Serve with warm, crusty bread. This can also be made a day ahead.

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Roasted Butternut Baked Penne

This. Was. Sooooo Yummy!

In my family, we have 2 toddlers who are still trying to discover what they like and don't like, a teenage boy who eats everything in sight, a vegetarian tween daughter who ironically doesn't like many vegetables and a husband who tries to eat healthy during the week so he can splurge more on the weekends. Then there's me who is a combination of all of that. This dish pleased everyone!! Don't be afraid of that little bit of cream and the cheese if you're like my husband, it's really pretty healthy since it makes such a big pan.

The star of this dish was my awesome brown sugar bacon! Yes, I'm going to brag. I love brown sugar bacon! It's like magic! It combines those mouthwatering flavors of smokey and sweet, Oh my sweet fancy Moses, there are just no words! You just sprinkle a little bit of the bacon over each serving and it's just...well, it's just darn good! I like to pair this meal with a green garden salad for even more servings of vegetables.

Note: If you don't have mascarpone cheese, you can substitute with 1-2 oz. softened cream cheese, 2 t. heavy cream & 1 T. sour cream mixed together.

Additional Note: When reheating this, add a little splash of milk to help it come together better.

Serves 4-6

2 lbs. butternut squash

olive oil

salt & pepper

3 T. butter

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 c. mascarpone cheese

2/3 c. milk

1/4. cream

1 lb. penne pasta

1/2 c. grated mozzarella

1-2 oz. mozzarella, cubed

1/4 c. parmesan, grated

1/2 t. dried sage

1 t. italian seasoning

Brown Sugar Bacon

5-6 slices bacon

brown sugar

pepper

Roasting Squash:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Half the butternut squash width wise and then half again length wise so you have 4 pieces of squash. Scoop out the seeds and membranes and place on a baking sheet. Season with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast in oven for about 35-40 min. Set aside and let cool til you can handle comfortably. Once cooled a bit, scoop the squash out of the shell and put into a medium bowl. Mash with a potato masher or a fork, adding some of the milk to the squash to make it a little easier to work with.

Brown Sugar Bacon:

Lay bacon on a foil lined baking sheet or one of those roasting pans with the rack thingy. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of brown sugar over each slice of bacon and sprinkle some pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12-14 minutes. You will be able to smell the sweet caramelized scent of baked brown sugar.

Prepare water for pasta and cook about 2 min. less than what the directions state.

While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted add shallots. Cook butter/shallot mixture til butter just begins to brown and add garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds more. Add any milk left over from mashing squash, then cream, mascarpone cheese, nutmeg, dried sage, Italian seasoning and additional salt & pepper to taste.

Drain pasta and pour back into pot you cooked it in. Add about 2/3 of the sauce to start and mix together. Add more sauce if you think it looks too dry. Stir in the cubed mozzarella. Pour into a greased 13X9 baking pan and sprinkle grated mozzarella & parmesan. Sprinkle some Italian seasoning over the top and place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or......until hot & bubbly.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

There are many awesome, amazing and special things about being a stay at home mom. One of them is being able to make breakfasts like this every once in awhile. Especially now that it's getting to the fall/winter season here in Arizona, it's a lovely idea to wake up to. This is a pretty basic pancake batter, you can mix up some of the ingredients to your liking. Add applesauce or peanut butter or blueberries, etc. Possibilities go on and on with this one. By the way, they freeze great too!

Makes about 12 medium size pancakes

1 cup flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or 1 1/2 cups white flour)

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or add 1 1/2 T. vinegar to a measuring cup and add milk, let sit for 3-5 min.)

1 t. vanilla

1 T. oil

1 large egg

2 small to med ripe bananas, mashed

Chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. In another, combine wet ingredients. Mix wet ingredients into dry and stir just until moistened. Add mashed bananas and fold gently. You want the batter to be lumpy.

Heat a large griddle or pan, spray with cooking spray or spread a little butter. Add batter, about 1/4 cup for smaller pancakes and 1/2 cup for larger. Sprinkle chocolate chips over each pancake. Cook til bubbles appear and edges are set then flip and cook til golden. Serve with butter and warm syrup. Make sure you have a nice cold glass of milk ready too.

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Chipotle Chicken Fajita Fettucine

I love pasta and I love mexican food. I just couldn't resist coming up with something that combined the two. I'd seen several recipes out there with this same concept so I knew it would turn out good. It was better than good actually. I usually have to double this recipe just to feed my family since everyone almost always goes back for seconds, or if you're a teenage boy, thirds too.

Serves 4-6 depending on the size of the stomach

1 lb. fettucine noodles

2 T. olive oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle pepper + 1 t. adobo sauce (more if you like it spicier)

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup half n half

1 1/2 T. flour

1 1/2 T. butter

1 cup chicken broth

basil, either fresh or dried is fine

salt & pepper

dried oregano

2 roma tomatoes, diced

Cilantro

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel or dish towel and season with salt, pepper & oregano.

In a large pot, boil water and season generously with salt and add fettucine. Cook noodles until just tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T. olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat and add chicken. Cook for about 3 minutes and stir to cook other side. Add garlic and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink but be careful not to burn garlic. Remove from pan and set aside. In same pan, add 1 T. olive oil and add onions & peppers. Cook until blackened a bit then remove and set aside. Deglaze pan with chicken broth, scraping up all the cooked bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook chicken broth for about 2-3 minutes until it reduces in amount then add butter & flour and whisk to remove any lumps. Turn heat down to medium and add milk & half n half. Add chipotle peppers & adobo sauce, basil and some more oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add chicken, onions & peppers back into sauce and stir to coat. By this time, your noodles should be done. Add noodles to pan and toss it all together to coat with sauce. Pour into a big bowl or platter and sprinkle diced tomatoes and cilantro over the top & serve hot.

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