Yummy Site

I'm in love with this new food site I found. Annie's Eat's. So many yummy things I want to make. I just had to share! Make sure you check out the Pumpkin Pie bars and the Toffee Bar Brownie Torte! She also has some really good freezer ideas.

Rootbeer float cookies

Here's some pictures of how our rootbeer cookies came out. I only had light brown sugar, so they're alot lighter. Alan had the idea to put vanilla icecream between two cookies to make rootbeer float cookies. So, I only used one egg to make them more "brownie like" to make it esier to put ice cream between them. They turned out delicious!!

Root Beer Cookies

This is a must try!!!

Cookies:

Makes about 4 dozen

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. root beer extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup water (optional–only use if dough is too dry)

Cream butter and dark brown sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the root beer extract. Whisk dry ingredients together. Add a little at a time to the creamed mixture. The dough should be slightly sticky. Chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease several baking sheets, or line them with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Roll into small balls (about 1″ diameter). Place them on the pan, leaving a bit of space between the cookies. Gently press the tops of the dough. (If you leave out the water, sometimes the cookies don’t spread very much.) Bake for 6-8 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through.

Frosting : (I think this makes a ton of frosting, so I usually cut it in half, recipe below is the full recipe)

• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. root beer extract
• a few tablespoons hot water

Beat butter on high with an electric mixer until it is fluffy. Add a little powdered sugar and the root beer extract. Beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar alternately with a little hot water until a nice spreading consistency has been reached.

Frost the cooled cookies and let stand for a few minutes to let the frosting set up.

Grilled Honey-Mustard Brats

This is one of our favorite things to grill up in the summer time.

1 cup honey mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp worcesrshire sauce
1/4 tsp tsp celery seed
8 uncooked bratwurst links
8 buns

In a bowl combine first four ingredients. Pour 3/4 cup into a large resealable bag; add brats. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Cover remaining sauce.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Grill brats, covered, over medium heat 10 minutes, turning frequently.

Baste with 2 Tbs. of reserved sauce; grill 3 minutes longer. Turn and baste with 2 Tbs. sauce; grill 3-5 minutes longer until no longer pink. Serve on buns with remaining sauce.

Crispy Chicken Fingers

For years I've tried to make fried chicken that actually looks like the kind you can get at restauraunt. I've tried many different recipes, and for some reason I could never get it right. The coating would burn before the chicken was cooked, or it would just fall off all together. Other times the chicken would be so greasy that we could barely eat it. Well, last night I decided to try it again. I combined all the ideas I had from other recipes, and it came out really good! I think they look and taste like the real thing! Finally. So, here's the recipe for you.

Ingredients:

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts thawed and cut in strips

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon Baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 egg

1 quart of oil for frying- I use canola 'cuz it's a little healthier

1. Heat the oil in a large pot to 350 degrees.

2. Place all the chicken strips into bowl or pan filled with salted water to soak while they wait to be fried. (This makes the chicken moist)

3. In a wide bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. ( You can also add garlic, or other spices that you may like to this as well)

4. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl.

5. Dip the chicken first in the egg, then the flour, then the egg and flour again to make sure there's a nice thick coating on the chicken

6. Fry the battered chicken a few peices at a time until golden brown. Turn the chicken a few times to make sure it's evenly browned. Depending on how thick you cut the chicken, this should take 5-10 minutes.

8.Drain on paper towels. To keep all the peices warm while waiting for them all to be done, place them in a warm oven (about 200 degrees) until ready to serve.

Easy Dinner

Maybe you have tried this or something similar. Our friends insisted on making us dinner after Nathan was born. This is what they made, so yummy!

Salad greens
Bow tie noodles, cooked
Chicken, cooked with ground pepper and cut into strips
Croutons
Parmesan cheese
Salad Dressing---poppy seed's our favorite


Layer the ingredients just like that on your plates. Easy and yummy!

Tortilla chips

Ok, maybe I'm the last person on earth to figure this out, but in case not, I thought I'd share. They turned out pretty good and saved me a trip to the store when I wanted them as a side dish.

Ingredients:

1 pkg corn or flour tortillas cut into wedges

1 quart of oil for frying

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy sauce pan to 375. (Try to keep it at this temperature to avoid oversaturating the chips, or burning them)

2.Fry the tortilla wedges in small batches until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.