Lepkuchen Cookies

This recipe has been in my family for generations. I don't think I've ever gone a Christmas without consuming at least on Lepkuchen Cookie. Here's the recipe for a half batch (which makes about 100 cookies):

HALF BATCH

3/4 cup gran. Sugar
5 cups (that’s right-5) flour
1/2 teas. Salt
1 teas. Baking Soda
1/2 Tbs. Cinnamon
1/2 teas. Cloves
1/2 teas. Cardomen (kind of hard to find)

Mix the above together and make a hole in the center to which add the following:

Grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/4 cup warm water, 1 egg, 1/2 pt. (1 cup) molasses heated with 1/2 cup shortening until dissolved.

Mix all together until you have a very firm dough (at some point stop mixing with a spoon and use your hands. I broke a spoon last year because I didn't know this and just kept stirring.). More flour may be added. Let stand overnight (I put it in the refrigerator because it has eggs in it, but you’ll have to let it warm up for a while when you take it out of the fridge the next day).

Roll out thin (between ¼ and ⅛ inch, use LOTS of flour so that it doesn’t stick), cut out cookie shapes, bake until lightly brown (somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them and how thinly you rolled them out). Bake at 350°.

Decorate with frosting if desired. In my family we use cake decorating bags and a round tip... but don't use Pillsbury frosting (or whipped with any brand), because it won't solidify.

Puppy Chow

My roommate and I, in celebration of Christmakkuh, have decided to bake a ton of cookies and sweets this week. We decided to start out with something easy, so we made puppy chow. She had actually never had it before. I became concerned that others were equally deprived of the joys that puppy chow can bring, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

9 cups of Rice Chex (almost a whole box)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth is better)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 stick of margarine or butter
2 cups powdered sugar (packed)

Melt butter, chips and peanut butter together in a pan. Pour mixtrue over Chex in a large bowl and stir until cereal is well coated. Place powdered sugar in a paper bag. (We used a paper grocery bag, but we should have double bagged it because once we started shaking it up powdered sugar was flying everywhere.) Pour in cereal mixture. Shake vigorously! Cereal should be white when you're done.
Grab some milk and enjoy!!

Pasta Pizza Casserole

This dish is delicious. It also only requires ingredients that I almost always have anyway.

1/2 box spaghetti
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 jar regular marinara sauce
Lots of shredded cheese
Your favorite pizza toppings

Cook the spaghetti.
Beat the eggs with the milk in a separate bowl.
Drain the pasta then return to original pot.
Stir in the eggs and milk and mix thoroughly.
Put the mixture into an oven dish (it makes a lot, so I used two dishes).
Then cover the pasta with the marinara sauce.
Cover the marinara sauce liberally with shredded cheese.
Put your pizza fixings on the top (I suggest pepperoni or olives).
Then bake in the oven for 12-15 min at 350 degrees.

Green Tomatoes

I recently bought some green tomatoes at the farmer's market. I wasn't really sure what to do with them, and all of the recipes I found on the internet required ingredients that were too rarely used to be found in my kitchen (i.e. flour), so I improvised.

Slice one green tomato about 1/2-1/4.
Pour some oil onto a frying pan and cook the slices of tomatoes on med hi. Salt and pepper to taste. Flip them occaisionally. They should turn brown on both sides.
When they're done cooking you should be able to cut them into smaller chunks with a spatula.
Then eat them.

They're also very good when added to pasta.

WARNING: If you don't like green tomatoes, you won't like this recipe. I like green tomatoes, but you might not.

Monster Pasta

I feel bad that I'm the only one posting, but I made a pretty good recipe last night, so I thought I would share.

Ingredients:
1 Box Jumbo pasta shells (they look like huge Velveeta shells)
1 container Ricotta or Cottage cheese
1 can shredded chicken

Cook the pasta shells (count the number you want to make, then add a couple more because some might break).
Mix the chicken into the cheese.
Drain the shells and spread them out on foil or wax paper so they don't stick together.
Stuff them with the cheese mixture using a big spoon.
Place them in an oven-safe pan and cover with marinara sauce.
Then cover with shredded cheese of your choice (optional, but cheddar was really good).
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

This definitely isn't the healthiest dish, but it sure is tasty! It's also good without the chicken for a vegetarian option.

Chocolate Ramints

So, I just made up this recipe today with my roommate. It turned out pretty awesome. It's similar to the hay stack recipe.

Melt two or three squares of Chocolate Bark (see previous recipe).
Add about 5-6 drops of peppermint extract.
Stir in one package of Ramen that has been broken up into pieces that are about the size of rice crispies.
Drop teaspoonfuls onto wax paper (foil also works if you don't have wax paper, but you might want to spray some pam on it first so the cookies don't stick).
They taste like andy's chocolate after dinner mints, but they have a little crunch, mmmm.

Haystacks (aka My Great-Grandpa Meyer's Favorite Cookies)

I made about 30 of these cookies this week and they were gone in less than two days. They're awesome tasting, and really easy to make.

Ingredients:
One pkg. Chocolate Bark (for candy making, usually found with chocolate chips in baking aisle)
One bag pretzel sticks
One bag mini marshmallows

Melt about 4 chunks of chocolate in microwave according to package directions. Then quickly stir in some of the pretzels and marshmallows until they're all covered. Plop large spoonfuls onto wax paper and let set. Repeat until you have the desired number of cookies. Also, pecans or other nuts can be added... the marshmallows are also optional.