The BEST Sugar Cookies ever!

This recipe comes from my first mission president and his wife. It came in a cookbook called The Farnsworth Family Favorites. It was a wedding present 16 years ago! This dough makes the softest, yummiest, easiest dough to work with cookies! I'm all about simplicity and these take the cake!

Sugar Cookies

Mix together thoroughly:

3/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup margarine

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

I repeat: Mix everything thoroughly. This will make a soft dough. You can use it as is for a nice drop cookie. OR refrigerate at least 1 hour. Roll out on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 6-8 minutes or until the edges of the bottoms begin to be a very light brown. Bake at 350 degrees.

Yogurt Berry Muffins

I made these for an afterschool snack today. They went over quite well with the family. This recipe comes from my Canadian teammate ~Leslie~ in the Aussie/NZ recipe swap for February 2010. Her recipe calls for strawberry yogurt and strawberries. I went with blueberries. Peach or raspberry would also work well I think.

Yogurt Berry Muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 TBSP baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup blueberry yogurt (I did notice the yogurt at the store only comes in 6 oz now - it still works.)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Glaze:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3 TBSP orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tins or use cupcake liners.
Combine all muffin ingredients except glaze. Pour into 18 muffin cups and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool.
For the glaze:
Combine both ingredients. This makes a runny glaze. Just so you know. Pour over muffins. Wait for a little bit and the glaze will harden.

Soup and Scones

I had a ham bone in the freezer from Christmas that needed to be used. I went to recipezaar.com and found a recipe that tastes so similar to what my mom used to make while I was growing up. I loved her ham and bean soup. This recipe comes from JanuaryBride in St. Louis, Missouri. The scone recipe comes from my February teammate French Tart from France - in the Aussie/NZ recipe swap. I think I did the scones wrong - never made them before. I did them in the mixer when I should have done them by hand. The taste was still yummy though.

These two recipes are a perfect pair for a blustery winter day. (Which definitely wasn't here in Tillamook today. It was actually warm and 60 degrees!)

Crockpot Ham and Beans

1 lb great northern or small white beans

1 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup shredded carrot

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

7 cups water

4 tsp chicken bouillon

1 very meaty ham bone (If you don't have a meaty ham bone - add in 1 cup cubed ham)

Rinse and sort thru beans. Cover with water and let sit overnight or do the speed method in the morning you are wanting this for dinner. Hot water, bring beans to a boil and let sit on simmer for about an hour.

Drain water, rinse beans and place in crockpot. Add all the other ingredients except ham bone. Stir. Now add the ham bone.

Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours.

Remove bay leaf and ham bone. Remove 1-2 cups of beans and mash. Add mashed beans back into the soup. Take off any meat from the ham bone and add that back in. Add a bit of black pepper if desired. Enjoy!

Irish and Scottish Gaelic Soda Bread Scones

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I am guessing these are made biscuit style (As in here in the US.) Mix all dry ingredients. Gradually add buttermilk - a little at a time until you have a soft but not sticky dough.

Knead on a floured surface just enough to shape dough into a round. Flatten to about 1 inch thick and cut out 8-10 scones using 3 inch cutter. Or just do straight cuts with a sharp knife.

Put on floured cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. I found my scones were done closer to 15 - 17 minutes. They should rise like biscuits do and be golden in color.

Serve with soups or stews.

Open Omelette

This was a very tasty, hearty and filling breakfast! It takes little time to gather the ingredients. This recipe comes from JoyfulCook. My teammate in the February 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. She lives in South Wales, UK. I am changing a couple things in her recipe to make it more to my tastes.

Open Omelette
vegetable spray
1 or 2 eggs, beaten
1 slice ham or bacon, chopped and precooked
1 TBSP tomato, chopped (I didn't have tomatoes so did mushrooms instead)
1 tsp fresh chives, chopped (or green onion tops - the flavor is comparable)
1/2 potato, precooked, diced (I used 1/2 of a baked potato left from another meal- I also warmed them up in the microwave before adding to the pan.)
salt and pepper to taste
small amount of cheese

Heat frying pan that has been sprayed with vegetable oil. Add beaten egg(s). Add other ingredients. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the egg(s) is set. I even covered the pan to steam cook the mushrooms and keep the heat in for the potatoes. Very carefully slide the open omelette to a plate and serve with your favorite toast or breakfast bread.