Spritz cookies!!!

So this afternoon I was in a baking mood. Here is what I baked homemade!

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Colored sugar (optional)
• 1 recipe Powdered Sugar Icing (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, vanilla, and, if desired, almond extract until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.

2. Force unchilled dough through a cookie press onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm but not brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

3. Makes about 84 cookies

YUMMY!!! I only have like 10 left! They were surely a hit!

~Mj

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

My mom sends us this recipe and heard about it from my Non. It's a famous recipe that many people make.

Ingredients:
-Sliceable Mozzarella (My mom recommends Buffalo Mozzarella)
-Vine Ripened Tomatoes (store bought just isn't good enough for this recipe)
-Fresh Sweet Basil (Dried will work too if you get a good quality brand)
-Olive oil
-Balsamic Vinaigrette (optional)

Layer your sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, and chopped basil. Then drizzle a small amount of Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Thanks Mom!

Italian Basil Tomato Melt

This is a recipe my mom came up with and I learned how to make this week. We are calling it the Italian Basil Tomato Melt

Ingredients:
tomato slices (2 per sandwich)
yellow onion slices
medium cheddar cheese
dried or fresh sweet basil
butter or margarine
Parmesan cheese
whole wheat bread slices
balsamic vinaigrette

Tools needed:
cheese knife
cutting board
butter knife (or spreading knife)
frying pan
spatula

First slice the cheese with a cheese knoife. These kinds of knives look different than most other knives. This kind of knife helps to slice a block of cheese better so the cheese is less likely to stick to your knife.

You can get these knives from different stores and at different prices. This one came with a set my dad bought for my mom.




Next slice your tomatoes and place them on a plate and sprinkle basil over them and drizzle desired amount of balsamic vinaigrette. We used a vinaigrette from Safeway from their Organic selection. If you taste it on it's own it is very strong and might burn your throat. It is best used as a seasoning or for dipping french bread in it as an appetizer.

We bought a large bundle of basil from the Farmer's Market and dried it by laying it over a cooling rack over night. Then we placed it into a bag and use all year long. It does taste better when it's fresh, but we didn't want it to mold in the refrigerator so we dried it to keep it.

Now layer your ingredients with the cheese first, we used two slices. Then add tomatoes, onions(desired amount), then another layer of cheese.

(My sister added cooked turkey bacon to her layers today and loved that.)

We place cheese on both sides so that the vegetables don't slide out of the sandwich and besides, it tastes great with more cheese.




You'll now want to close your sandwich and butter one side well and sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the butter and then spread it into the butter.
We recommend 100% parmesan, because some parmesan cheese companies add weird things to it to prevent caking. Fresh is best!


Now we place the frying pan over medium heat until hot and ready. Next place your sandwich on the pan and cook one side until golden brown and flip with a spatula. You may want to have your parent's help with the cooking part.





In the picture here you can see that our Teflon pan is not holding up to the guarantee and we learned that Teflon is not a good thing to cook your food on. So a new pan will be on our next shopping list.



Place your sandwich on a plate and cut in half. We served ours with baby carrots and celery sticks filled with cream cheese and lightly sprinkled with Chili powder. It's not spicy and is actually kinda sweet and tastes very good.

We hope you enjoy our Italian Basil Tomato Melt.

Popcorn Bombs by MJ & Family

My sister, mother and I enjoyed making these popcorn bombs tonight. We hope you enjoy making them, and eating them as well.(copyright 2007)


INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• salt to taste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or other flavor such as peanut butter or white chocolate)
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar (optional)
• 5 quarts popped popcorn
• 3 cups slightly chopped peanuts (or M&Ms, crushed Butterfinger, etc) If adding this, reduce popcorn to 4 quarts

DIRECTIONS
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter and water. Stir and heat to hard-crack stage or 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Remove from heat, add vanilla or vinegar; mix well. (to test hard crack stage, drop sugar mixture into a bowl of ice water(with ice in it) and wait a few seconds. When you pull it out (carefully, could be hot) you should be able to snap it. *crack* If it is still moldable or stretchy, it’s not time yet.
2. Pour slowly over popped popcorn while stirring. Wait 5 minutes and shape into 3 inch round balls. (butter hands well to avoid sticking)





Have a great day!

Chicken Kabobs with MJ

Mj’s Chicken Kabobs



Ingredients

5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

1c. Basque Norte marinade

2 cans chunk pineapple (save the juice)

2 boxes whole mushrooms

2 red bell peppers

2 yellow bell peppers

2 green bell peppers

1 large red onion
----------------------------------------------------------------
Directions
Cut chicken breasts into cubes. Place in a bowl with Basque Norte marinade and 1 can of pineapple juice. Cover and refrigerate over night. Soak skewers in water over night.
Cut bell peppers and onions into cubes; soak in 1 can of pineapple juice with pineapple. Cover and marinade over night.

------------------------ --------------------------------------
Preparation

Add ingredients onto skewers alternating between vegetables and chicken. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and place kabobs on the tray.

Cover with foil and bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes.
I hope you enjoy my cooking segment!

Cheeseballs with MJ and Non

This cheeseball recipe was given to me by my Non and was given to her by a friend of hers, named Laurie Newton. She is the mother to one of my dad's classmates from Kindergarten. If anyone knows Laurie, please give her my thanks, as this has become a family tradtion for the last several years!

Cheeseballs Yields apprx. 4, 3 in. balls

Ingredients:

2 lbs. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3 lbs. softened cream cheese

2 cans of black olives (chopped by you)

1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (set aside apprx. 1/2 cup to roll the balls in)

1-12oz. can evaporated milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. garlic (crushed)

First, you'll want to mix the cheeses with a large spoon or heavy duty scraper, in a large bowl. Gradually add in the evaporated milk. Once these ingredients are mixed in, add the salt and baking soda to 1 cup of walnuts and mix into cheese mixture. Next add your garlic and olives and mix well.

Refridgerate for about one hour, then form balls in clean hands and roll to coat in chopped walnuts. Place on a platter and wrap with plastic wrap and refridgerate for another 30 minutes, then serve with your choice of crackers.

Welcome

Welcome to Cooking with MJ!

I am excited to announce that we have special plans for the show this year, as we have special guests who will be joining us.

The recipes contained in the show are from various cooks around the country and some vintage recipes from my family history.

What you can find on my site in the near future:

*Tips for keeping a clean environment.
*Safety in the kitchen.
*Proper food handling.
*Weights and measures.
*Table settings.
*Catering events.

and so much more!

Thanks for stopping by, and keep your eyes out for upcoming video cooking segments with me, MJ!