Mini Pancake Maker Cookies

Last night hubby and I experimented with making sugar cookies in an electric mini pancake maker.  Last year, I bought a mini pancake and mini doughnut maker during the holidays and never really used them.  So, we decided to see if we could use them for something other than what the box indicated.

We took a basic sugar cookie recipe, dropped small little portions into each pancake area, and closed the lid for about a minute (depending on how crunchy or soft you want them).  They came out great.  They were slightly larger than a Nilla Wafer and tasted fantastic.

Now that we know that works, we could buy the refrigerator rolls of cookie dough and just make a small batch of a few cookies when we want them!

Potato Ricer

I have seen on cooking shows where they use a potato ricer in various dishes, but I had never used one.  This past week, hubby and I bought a potato ricer and tonight I decided to make mashed potatoes using the ricer.  It was easy to use and made the potatoes come out very creamy.  I left the skin on the potatoes, so it was a little messier that it would have been if I had taken the skin off.  Hubby and I both liked the way the potatoes came out, so I can definitely see us using it more in the future.

Pyrex and Anchor Hocking Glass Baking Dishes

I am a big fan of glass baking dishes and learned something very disturbing in this month's Consumer Reports magazine.  The formula for the Pyrex and Anchor Hocking glass baking dishes changed in the mid 80's and the new formula doesn't hold up as well as the original formula.  If you have ever had a glass baking dish shatter, it might not have been something you did, it could have been because you have one of the dishes made with the new formula.  Consumer Reports tested dishes by placing them in a 450 degree oven for 80 minutes and then taking them out and placing them on a marble counter.  Every single one shattered.  When placed on a towel which buffered the cool surface, they did not break.  Essentially, you have to read the instructions and follow them closely.  The newer formula is not as sturdy as the older formula.  Now, I am going to be leery about using my glass baking dishes.

Homemade Chili

A big pot of homemade chili sounds really good today. I bought the stuff to make it yesterday, but by the time we got home from the store, it was too late. My aunt used to make it with venison and it was so good. Since I don't have any venison, mine chili will be a turkey chili. What do you like to make your chili with?

Menudo Recipe

Before my mother-in-law passed, she invited me over one day and showed me her menudo recipe. It took all morning to make, probably because I was slowing her down asking so many questions. I painstakingly wrote down everything she did and described how much of each ingredient she used (she didn't measure anything). It was a great day and I was so proud of that recipe because she never shared it with anyone else, not even her own daughters. After writing it down, I came home and put it away where it would be safe.

I bet you can guess what I am going to say next..... That recipe is tucked away so safely that I cannot find it anywhere. We have been looking for that recipe on and off now for over a year. I know exactly what the little notebook I wrote it in looks like, but for the life of me I can't find it anywhere. Since she never showed any of my sister-in-laws, I can't ask them to share the recipe. I need to find that recipe or the family menudo recipe is lost forever.

Have you ever tucked something away in such a safe place that even you can't find it anymore?

Blue Cheese Guacamole

Last night hubby created for dinner (I love it when he does creations). He made shrimp and buffalo chicken kabobs with blue cheese guacamole dip. It was extremely good. Today I decided to google "blue cheese guacamole" to see if anyone else had ever combined blue cheese and avocados and Nigella apparently tried it first. She calls hers Roquamole.

If you have never tried blue cheese guacamole (or roquamole), give it a try. Take your avocados, add some blue cheese dressing, and a little salsa. Viola, you're done. You can leave out the salsa if you don't want the spicy kick and it is still very good.

Cornbread

Today I was making cornbread to go with our soup and it made me think about my great grandmother, Little Mama. I grew up in a multi-generational house so there was always people around and almost always someone in the kitchen cooking. I remember this one time when I was about 5, Little Mama was in the kitchen with my grandmother, Nanny. Little Mama was mixing something in a bowl with her electric mixer and I was certain it was one of the cakes she always made. My great grandfather,Papa had a huge sweet tooth. Whenever she made cake, I liked to lick the beaters. This time when I asked for the beaters, Little Mama told me no. I got really upset and decided I would go pester her from outside the kitchen window. The window was open and she was looking out the window, so I felt this was the best way to pester her in to giving me the beaters. As I was approaching my spot outside, I got distracted by a bee in the dogs water. I decided to be nice to the dog and take the bee out. Of course, I didn't stop there, I had to squish the bee with my bare feet. The bee promptly stung the crap out of me sending me back inside the house crying. When I got back inside, Nanny fixed up my bee sting and I immediately went back to pestering Little Mama about the beaters. Finally she was tired of telling me no, so she gave me a beater. As she handed it to me I will never forget her words. She said, "you aren't going to like this, but just remember that you asked for it". I proceeded to take a big lick off of the beater and realized she was right; that was the nastiest tasting cake ever. It was not sweet and was very gritty. That's when she told me she was making cornbread.

I wish I could say that I learned my lesson that day, but I didn't. I had many more such lessons to come. I was always the child who was very head strong and had to learn the hard way.