Lemon Butter Slice n Bake cookies with Lemon and Vanilla bean Glaze

This recipe came from an old Taste of Home Recipe jazzed up a little!
This was my first slice and bake cookie and to my surprise I was shocked at the melt in your mouth airy consistency these cookies had. They are buttery and light with just a touch of lemon and perfect for Santa, dessert after a big meal or even with a cup of coffee the next morning!!! I hope you enjoy them!

You will need:
3/4 cup of soft butter
1/2 confectioners sugar
1 T of grated lemon peel
1 C. flour
1/2 C cornstarch
Christmas nonpareils

Icing:
1 C confectioners sugar
2 T of fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp real Vanilla
a pinch of ground Vanilla beans (optional)

Cream butter and sugar till fluffy with a mixer. Add in grated lemon peel. mix flour and corn starch together and slowly mix them into the mixer.  cover this and refrigerate for about an hour. Remove from fridge,  and roll into about a 2 in  diameter log. and then roll in the nonpareils till completly coated and press them down firmly. Wrap in plastic and refridgerate overnight.  Heat oven to 375..... Remove cookies from fridge and  begin to slice in 1/4 in slices with a sharp knife. (i use a thin sharp tomato knife). Place them on a cookie sheet about 1/2 in. apart....they will not spread so they can be close together but not touching! Bake for about 10 min. they will put and just slightly begin to brown on the edge then remove from oven and let cool on sheet about a min. Then move to racks to cool completly.
Now to put on the icing!! The best part in my opinion!
 in a small bowl, place the confectioners sugar and squeeze in the lemon juice and stir. Add the vanilla and the beans and stir again. you want this to be a thick glaze so it wont run. Place a thin layer of glaze on each cooled cookie!
ENJOY!

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

1 lb of shrimp....peel them

Put all of this on top of shrimp and stir:

2 cloves of garlic minced

5-8 dashes of green Tabasco sauce

5 dashes of lousiana hot sauce

salt and pepper and a few flakes of red pepper

melt a tablespoon of butter in pan till it starts to bubble and add shrimp. Cook till pink and then pick the shrimp out of the pan and set aside leaving behind as much garlic as you can.

In the pan add 1/2 of a diced onion and let cook till soft.

Add 1 can of petite diced tomatoes and 1 small can of tomato paste as well as about 1/2 cup of red wine (maybe a little more)  as well as 1/4 cup of water and a pinch of sugar then let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Right at the end I add just a pinch of baking soda and stir. ( it will bubble but it will also reduce a lot of the acidity and make for a smoother sauce)  While that is simmering I boil (in salted water) about 3/4 of a box of whole wheat pasta and just before done I drain them and save just about 2/3 of a cup of pasta water and set aside. Mix the pasta and sauce together and stir and add as much of the pasta water as you think you need to get the consistency you want for the sauce. Taste to see if you need to add a little more salt or pepper. I added a few more flakes of red pepper because I liked it really spicy! Let this sit for about 10 min. Then plate the pasta, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with shrimps and serve! I served with a green salad and garlic bread! It was fantastic!

Little Breakfast cups

These are truly genius by design and really quite simple. It is now one of my kids favorite breakfast ideas. In fact that was what Grant decided he wanted tonight. We did them with Prosciutto and smoked Gouda tonight and that may be my new favorite. I was doing the Black Forrest ham with Swiss before that! I set the recipe up for six but you can easily add or subtract to make how many you want! The best part is that they are so versatile that the possibilities are endless!!!

Here is the basic idea:

You will need:

6 eggs

6 slices of bread with crust trimmed

6 slices of Black Forrest ham or prosciutto ( or other fine deli meat)

6 slices of Swiss or Provolone or smoked Gouda (what ever you like)

salt and pepper

little bit of butter

heat oven to 350.

trim the bread of crust and then flatten completely. butter lightly both sides of the bread and gently place into muffin cups. do the best to to make the bread fit the cup without tearing it. Bake the bread cups for about 5 min. or until just toasted. place whatever deli meat you have chosen into the cup then the cheese and then ever so gently you crack the egg right on top of the cup and sprinkle it with just a little salt and pepper. Repeat this process for the other cups and then place in the oven to bake. They usually take about 15 min but you are looking to see that the egg whites have turned white and that the yolk isn't too jiggly. You can bake them till the yolk is completely set if you like your eggs well done. remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve and Enjoy!!!

Stationery card

This is our Christmas card this year...Sorry I have been such a slacker on the blog here lately but i'm going to try to get up some great holiday recipes for you and your family in the next few days!