I know its only been a couple of days but it feels like its been forever!! I've been a busy girl :)
To start off, I want to share some of the DELICIOUS goods that I've been whipping up from some of the recipes from our Recipe Contest!
To start off, I made the Ginger Snap Cookies by Dani, our contest winner!
Here's her recipe, copied and pasted from her contest entry!!
Ginger Snap Cookies
These are a mix of like 5 recipes from the net, I didn’t like any one
of them on it’s own, so I mixed and matched and this is what happened =)
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar, for dipping
1. In large bowl, mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg.
2. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, cloves and salt.
3. Cover and refrigerate *at least* 1 hour.
4. After chilling, heat oven to 375F; Lightly grease cookie sheet.
5. Shape the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls, then dip tops into granulated sugar.
6. Place balls, sugared sides up, about 3 inches apart on cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or just until set (Do not overbake!).
8. Remove from cookie sheet, and cool on wire rack.
Makes about 24 cookies
I followed the recipe to the *T* and they are truly the BEST ginger snap cookies I have ever had!!!! They were moist, had a WONDERFUL texture, and the flavor is just WOW, so good! Not over-gingery, but just enough of that ginger taste to make you say MMMMM and crave some more! After the first batch was done, they were snagged up and eaten before the second batch ever made it out of the oven!
Next, I made the beautiful pizza casserole recipe by Amanda Fuentes. Here's her recipe cut & pasted from the recipe contest!
Pizza casserole:
1 can pop and bake biscuits
Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
3-4 cups of pasta tossed w/ tomato sauce (or jarred spaghetti sauce)
Spread the biscuits in a casserole dish. Spoon the pasta (I like bowties) and tomato sauce over the biscuits and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 14 minutes. Enjoy!
This is a FABULOUS recipe and one I would have never thought of on my own. I don't think I would have ever thought to put noodles and biscuits together in one dish, but it was so YUM!
My big suggestion based upon my own experience.... don't make the same mistake that I did and forget to cook the noodles before putting them in the dish!
I was such a dork and thought they'd cook in the sauce while baking, but NOPE. Cook the noodles ahead of time, and trust me that this will be one dish you'll have over and over again. SO SO GOOD.
In other news... you *MAY* have noticed the new ticker in the left column of the blog. That's right... I'm going to RENT!! Not only am I going to RENT but I am going with one of my oldest and best friends, Rachel. Can life get any sweeter?? I think not!
RENT wont be playing on stage after June of this year, so the fact that Rachel and I get to go see it together is just so meaningful to us. Its a musical that has touched our hearts and lives and has always been something special for the two of us. Its inspirational, motivational, moving, and jam-packed with the best music on the face of this earth. If you haven't seen RENT yet, please please find out if its playing near you and go see it before it is taken off stage! If you dont get a chance to see it live, at least get the movie - you won't regret it, because after all... there's no day like today! :)
I am SO glad you enjoyed the cookies! I am at the point now where when I am making these, I have to make a double batch to be sure I have enough ;-)
That casserole looks AWESOME - Thursday night? Friday night? Definitely SOON!
Posted by: Dani | February 19, 2008 at 08:08 PM
*SQUEAL!* I am so so excited... cannot wait to see you and see RENT together! No other person could make it the experience that it will be.
only 20 days until I can give you these *hugs* myself.
Oh... and all the food is seriously making me DROOL!
LOVE YOU!
Posted by: Rachel Hall | February 19, 2008 at 08:54 PM
Don't forget to bring lots of tissues to Rent!!!
Posted by: Re | February 19, 2008 at 10:36 PM
That food looks so yummy! I am so trying to cookies, maybe tomorrow even!
How exciting that you are going to rent!
HEY... I wanna see miss Rachel when she is here, how long will she be in town?
Does this mean I can get my scrap stuff organized?
Posted by: Christina | February 19, 2008 at 11:59 PM
Ooops! Sorry, girl! I should have mentioned it should be COOKED pasta, lol! I'm glad you liked the casserole though! Its a family favorite my mom started, now my own 2 girls just love it!
Posted by: Amanda Fuentes | February 20, 2008 at 09:03 AM
Oooh RENT! I didn't know about it not playing anymore. Damn, and I missed it when it came around my area. :( I'll have to try the cookies. I love gingersnaps. So good with some black tea. Yummers!
Posted by: Sarah | February 20, 2008 at 08:13 PM
LOL Good tip about precooking those noodles ;)
Posted by: Felicia | February 21, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Wow - it's been....at least 10 years since I saw Rent! It was such an amazing show (and I was lucky enough to get to go backstage!!!) - I'd love to see it again live if I could! Have fun and let us know how it is!
Posted by: greenapples | February 24, 2008 at 02:14 PM