Jamaican Toasted Coconut Cookies

As my sister would say, "If someone could figure out a way to hook me up to an IV and pump [coconut] through it, I would be a happy woman"! This is how I felt when I tasted this cookie dough. I knew it was going to make delightful cookies, and it did! To be honest, if you don't like coconut, you could still like these cookies. They taste like a perfect sugar cookie with just a dash of coconut, which makes them perfect. They are the tiniest bit chewy, and basically, to die for.

From: Pots and Pins

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coconut (I used big ribbon coconut and it was great but shredded coconut is probably best)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.(YES...250). Cream butter and sugar very well, add vanilla, coconut, baking soda and flour. Roll into 1-inch balls or use a 1-inch scoop. Place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, lightly press until cookies are a little less than a 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake for 30 minutes or until coconut is toasted and the bottoms of the cookies are just barely beginning to brown; DO NOT OVER BAKE. (Cookies will seem very fragile when first out of oven but let cool on the pan for about 3 to 4 minutes then carefully remove to rack to cool completely. Cookies will firm up as they cool.) Makes about 30 cookies.

Coconut Chicken Stir Fry

This Coconut Chicken Stir Fry, or, as my mom would like to name it, "Chicken 'Da Bomb", was THE BOMB! It has a delicious sauce with just a slight coconut flavor, a little kick from the ginger and curry paste, and a perfect consistency. I loved the crunch from all of the vegetables and the tender, moist chicken. Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe made this recipe with Shirmp, which I would love but hubbs would not, so I subbed it out for chicken. She also combined all ingredients together, but I had to adapt the recipe to have my vegetables separate from the chicken and sauce. It was equally as delicious, and hubbs even gave the snow peas a shot and liked them! (Slowly but surely I am converting him to veggies!)

Adapted from My Kitchen Cafe
Serves 4

1 recipe Coconut-Curry sauce (below)
1 pound chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite size pieces
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons EVOO(extra virgin olive oil)
1 bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced (any type will do)
8 ounces snow peas, strings removed and diced
1 cup bean sprouts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or 3/4 tablespoon ground ginger spice
2 1/4 cups rice, cooked

Coconut Curry Sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1-2 teaspoons red curry paste (I used 2 teaspoons for a doubled recipe - this paste can be found in most grocery stores in the Asian foods aisle near the Thai ingredients)
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Prepare the coconut curry sauce and set it aside (I doubled the sauce recipe because we love lots of sauce).

Toss the chicken with soy sauce. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chicken and cook, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl.

Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to the skillet and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in snow peas and bean sprouts and cook for one more minute. Transfer vegetables to a clean bowl.

Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, garlic and ginger to the skillet. Cook, mashing garlic mixture into the pan with the back of a spatula, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cooked chicken. Whisk sauce to recombine and add to pan, bringing to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.

Serve vegetable mixture and sauce mixture over rice.

Lemon Buttons

Thank you Becky! (And Paula Deen for that matter.) These lemon buttons are so, so tasty. The perfect bit of pop from the lemon zest and they just melt in your mouth if you eat them right out of the oven. They used to be called lemon 'muffins', but I changed the name because I feel that they are a mix between a muffin and a cupcake...and button seemed to fit due to their tiny size! Unfortunately, their tiny size also makes you feel like it is okay to eat 10 of them. When my mother-in-law tasted these, she said that they brought back memories of eating lemon cake as a child...o that made me so happy! I love nostalgic feelings from food, and love it even more when I can create those feelings in people around me!

From: Becky

Muffins

1 yellow cake mix
Small box (3 1/2 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
½ cup natural applesauce
¼ cup vegetable oil

Glaze
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spray MINI muffin tins with cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, applesauce and oil and blend well. Fill each muffin tin half full with batter.
Bake for 9 minutes.
For the glaze, sift the confectioners' sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water.
Dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips.
Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour. These are to die for FROZEN! I know, it sounds crazy, but give it a shot, we actually prefer them that way!

Yeilds: About 60 mini buttons.

Chicken Enchiladas

(First of all...let's be honest, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get even a semi-decent picture of enchiladas, sorry!) Are you ready for a heart-stopping meal? Well, this is it! Unfortunately, it is heart-stopping in two ways, 1) Deliciousness and 2) definitely not healthy! However, when I am in the mood for classic enchiladas that aren't my usual, sweet, Honey Lime Enchiladas, these are my new go-to recipe. They were perfectly creamy with the tiniest bit of a kick, and I was praised by all of the people who ate this meal with me! This is a great meal to fix to impress! Thanks Breen!

From: Brianne

4 chicken breasts
1 bullion cube
2 TBS olive oil
1-4 oz can of green chillies
1 jalepeno' pepper diced (You can do less or more depending on your spice preference)
1/4 c diced onion
1-8oz pkg of cream cheese
2 1/2 cups of monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup water
8 tortillas
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup enchilada sauce

1)Boil chicken breasts in water with the bullion cube, then shred.
2) Saute green chillies, jalepeno pepper, and onion in the olive oil. 
3) Add cream cheese to sauteed ingredients over medium heat until melted. Then add 1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese and heat until melted. Add shredded chicken.
4) Stuff the tortillas with your mixture and place them in a cake pan. Top with heavy cream, remaining cheese, and enchilada sauce.
5) Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 15-30 minutes, depending on preference of 'cheese crispiness'!
6) Serve with whatever mexican toppings you like....sour cream, olives, green peppers, tomatoes, salsa, rice ect.....

Bread in an Hour

O my! O my! O my goodness! This was absolutely delicious bread! My wonderful sister posted this recipe on her blog, where my Grandmother saw the recipe and made the bread for my cousin, Katie, who so graciously gave me a few slices this evening and I devoured them! (It was so good that after we closed the door behind Katie, Cody had to protect the last piece of bread from me so that he could have a nibble! We might have ended up wrestling over it...yes, it is that good!) Thank you to the 3 women above for passing it along! (I had to borrow the picture above...it looks and tastes even better than that one!)

From: Amanda

Makes 2 (8x4 inch) loaves

3 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. gluten flour, sifted (or vital wheat gluten)

1 1/4 T. instant yeast (or quick-rising)

2 1/2 c. very warm tap water

1 T. salt

1/3 c. oil

1/3 c. honey or 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/4 T. bottled lemon juice

2 - 2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

Mix together first three ingredients in mixer with a dough hook.  Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Add salt, oil, honey or sugar and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute.  Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup.  Beat for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.  This makes a very soft dough.

Preheat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off.  Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves, place in oiled bread pans.  Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches top of pan.  Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool on racks.

Homemade Applesauce

What would I do without my mother? What DO I do without her in my kitchen? Basically...she is amazing and I call her every time I am cooking anything. Each time I go home I am reminded of the delish meals that I was fed growing up. This is one of my favorite treats that she makes, but I never wanted to "venture" to match hers. Well, good news....THIS IS SUPER-DUPER EASY! Now, most meals of my mother's I just cannot match no matter how hard I try, I think it is that extra "love" she puts in them. However, this recipe is for anyone and everyone! Give it a try, it will be a go-to snack for your family (that you feel kind of healthy for eating....just try to forget about all the sugar in it!) P.S. please don't judge it by the picture...old camera=not so appetizing pic!

From: Mom

8 cups apples (about 4 large apples) I used cameo, use your fave!

1 3/4 cups 100% orange juice

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and core the apples. Cut into small chunks, no more than 3/8 inch thick. Stir apples, orange juice, water, salt, sugar and cinnamon together in a saucepan. Simmer for five minutes, so that the apples are tender, but still have a little "bite" texture to them. Remove from heat and serve warm. This would be great with ice cream....however, I just eat it plain! This applesauce refrigerates and freezes wonderfully. 

Japanese Chicken

Okay, I am going to tell you all: I NEED YOUR FAVORITE RECIPES! This is a go-to of Katie, my cousin...and she never shared it with me until last week! I feel so sad that you all have your favorite recipes and I may never, ever have the amazing chance to try them myself! SHARE THEM! SHARE THEM! 

Anyway, this was a super-easy, super-delicious meal! It is now going to be a go-to meal for me, I can't wait to make it again! Thanks Katie!

From: Katie

2 eggs

1 cup flour

6 Tbsp. sesame seeds(optional)

8 chicken breasts

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 cups vinegar

1/3 cup water

2 cups sugar

rice or rice noodles

Preheat oven to 350. Whip eggs, dip chicken in eggs then in flour. Mix the remaining ingredients to make a sauce, and pour sauce over chicken. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve over rice or rice noodles.(We did rice noodles, which I have NEVER tried before, and I will ALWAYS make them with the noodles, it was so different and delish!)