Mexican Mocha Balls!!!!

One of the favorite Watt's Family Christmas Cookie Traditions

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries

fine bakers sugar for dusting

preheat oven to 325 degrees

cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, cocoa, coffee, salt) and gradually beat in to butter mixture.  Stir in walnuts and cherries and chill for a minimum of 1 hour.  Shape into 1 inch balls and back for 20 minutes.  Cool and dust with fine sugar when still warm.

Chocolate chocolate Birthday cake!!!

first attempt at a fondant bow

1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375

Combine dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Melt butter, water and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil and pour into dry ingredients in mixing bowl and beat together.  Beat in sour cream then add in eggs and mix well.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Can use a jelly roll pan for texas sheet cake style or cake rounds for a birthday cake.

For Birthday cake, make up some chocolate genache while the cake cools.  Spread genache in between layers and pour generously over the top.  Use piped icing for happy birthday saying.

Time for Gingerbread

These are good made up as men or can be cut in rounds for a ginger snap. 

These cookies are so good I'm not sure they will last long enough to decorate.  Might want to make a double batch!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon orange or lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the orange/or lemon peel and molasses. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt, mixing until well combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.  I chilled overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are firm and lightly toasted on the edges.

Cut out the meat

It has been a while since I posted to this blog.  I think it's the juicer's fault.  I started juicing and stopped eating red meet and poultry.  I still eat fish and dairy but I'm thinking about reducing my intake of dairy.  It takes much more thought to come up with food choices and as a result ...blog posts.

I'll give it another shot.

Easy Meatless Burritos

Tortilla's; I use fresh tortilla's and cook them through on a griddle
black beans
brown rice
jalapeno slices
cheese (optional)

Cook the tortilla or warm them so they are nice and bendy, spoon on brown rice, black beans, cheese and jalapeno slices and roll.  If there are left overs roll them up into foil for after school snacks or lunches.  They heat up nicely in the microwave.

Mac n Cheese

I've been told this recipe is incredible.  I plan to make for the family when I return from our trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Recipe of the Month 

icon GRILLíS Fried Macaroni and Cheese 

Macaroni and Cheese Sauce Base:
½ # macaroni
6oz sharp yellow cheddar cheese
4oz gruyere cheese
4oz extra sharp white cheddar cheese
12 1” cubes Velveeta
1 cups chicken broth
½ cup milk
2 T. flour
2 T. butter or margarine
½ t. Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch dry mustard
1 splash Tabasco (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
2 cups panko bread crumbs

Cook macaroni, in salted water, drain. Set aside. Melt butter in a 4 qt sauce pot over medium high heat. Add flour and mix until flour is incorporated into butter. Cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add milk and chicken broth and continue to cook until sauce is thick and bubbly. Season with mustard, Tabasco, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Remove ¼ cup of this mixture and set aside for making the Molten Cheese sauce (see recipe below). Place macaroni and cheeses into the large sauté pan with the rest of the sauce and continue to heat. Mix constantly until all cheeses are melted and well combined into the sauce. Spray an 8X8 cake pan with anti-stick spray and pour the hot macaroni mixture into the pan. Let cool completely in the refrigerator until firm (ideally overnight). Take a knife and cut the chilled mixture into desired sized squares (2”X2” is good). Take the squares and roll in flour, dip in egg and roll in panko (be sure to use the one hand dry, one hand wet method). Place oil for frying into a deep-sided sauté pan over medium high heat or warm a small fryer to 350 degrees. When the oil is hot, carefully lay the breaded macaroni into the oil. If using a sauté pan, make sure you frequently turn the squares, so not to burn on the bottom. When golden brown, carefully remove to a plate with paper towels to drain. Serve with Molten Cheese sauce for dipping.

Molten Cheese Sauce
8 1” cubes Velveeta
4oz sharp yellow cheddar cheese
¼ cup reserved sauce from above

Take the remaining Sauce Base and warm over a medium burner in a small sauce pan. When warm, add cheese and cook until melted. Season more, if desired