Ginger Sugar Cookies

I make these cookies every Christmas (and also throughout the year because I love them too much to wait 12 months to eat them!)
I have been asked by a number of people for the recipe, so here goes:

Ginger Sugar Cookies


INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar for rolling





Preheat oven to 350°

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar

Add egg and Molasses, and mix

In a medium bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients (with the exception of the sugar) with a fork

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir

Roll the cookie dough into small balls (about half the size of a golf ball)

Roll the balls in a plate of sugar and place on a cookie sheet

Bake at 350° for 8 minutes

Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan

Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe for stuffed mushrooms is super easy, which is nice, because my family & friends are always asking for me to bring these as appetizers. They are just so good!

Stuffed Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS:
20 Mushrooms (give or take a few)
2 Tbsp Chives
1/3 Cup Crab Meat, or Immitation Crab (optional)
1/3 Cup Cream Cheese
1/4 Mayo
1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan


Rinse mushrooms, and pull off stems

Chop up a small bunch of chives (to make about 2 tbsp)

Chop up about 1/3 cup of crab meat (optional)

In a small mixing bowl, mix together chives, crab meat, 1/3 cup cream cheese, 1/4 cup mayonaise, and 1/3 cup grated parmesan

Put mixture into a ziplock bag, and cut off one corner of the bag

Pipe the mixture into the mushroom caps

Bake for 20 min at 350°

Artichoke & Tomato Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

This has got to be the best vegetarian, low carb, "pasta" dish out there! Spaghetti squash is such a great, gluten-free, healthy replacement to eating pasta.

Artichoke Heart and Tomato Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

INGREDIENTS:

1 Spaghetti Squash
1/2 Large Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Can Artichoke Hearts
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1/3 Cup of Milk
4 or 5 Fresh Basil Leaves (optional)
1 Cup Grated Parmesan


First prepare spaghetti squash: 

Cut in half lengthwise and remove "guts"

Put both halves of the squash facedown in a pan with about half an inch of water
     
Bake in oven for 45 minutes

While squash is baking:

Saute 1/2 a large onion, and 3 garlic cloves in a pan

Cut up 1 can of drained artichoke hearts into bite sized pieces

Add artichoke hearts and 1 can of diced tomatoes to the pan with the onions

Let simmer for about 30 minutes
 
Add 1/3 cup of milk

Let simmer for 10-15 minutes

Take the squash out of the oven, and scrape the insides out with a fork (throw away the outer shell, or if you're feeling creative, use it as the serving dish)

Add fresh chopped basil and a cup of grated parmesan cheese to the sauce

Serve sauce over the spaghetti squash

Grapes! Sweet & Sour, Fresh, and Frozen

I bought myself a bag of seedless green grapes from the farmers market yesterday. In search of something to use them for (other than just eating fresh of course), I came across some interesting and enticing ideas:

Frozen Grapes- Not as creative as what I've got next, but a delicious summertime snack none the less.

Sour Patch Grapes - I got this one from Sweet Treats & More, and I cannot wait to go out and get myself some jello mix. It is the healthy version of the not so healthy candies I cannot stop eating - perfect! Basically, the grapes are rinsed, and coated in Lime Jello (I'd like to try mixing some jello flavours around and seeing how it tastes with lemon mixed with raspberry), Fling 'em in the fridge for an hour or two, and voila - Sour Patch Grapes!


Grape Salad - I got this recipe from Add A Pinch, this isn't just your plain old fruit salad-sans-other-fruit,  it has it's own special dressing that just sounds delightful. You could make this with no-fat / low-fat cream cheese & sour cream, and feel even better about getting your servings of fruit for the day!

I threw some grapes in the freezer last night, and have been snacking on them all day today! I currently don't have any of the ingredients needed for these recipes, but you can be sure they'll be on my grocery list!

If you try out either of these recipes let me know how they turned out for you; and as always, please feel free to share your recipes with me so I don't starve!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts Part II

After tasting the most amazing roasted brussel sprouts last week, I had to have them again.

So, I gave the recipe a shot tonight, and they turned out great! In my experience, it is easy to go overboard with seasoning salt, so I made a point of under-seasoning the brussel sprouts, and then tasting them part way through cooking to add a bit more seasoning before they finished off.  Next time, I would cook them at 375°  to make them a bit more crispy.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do - they will definitely be the new go-to side dish at my dinner table!

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Top Five Vegetarian Superbowl Appies

I was looking around for some tasty vegetarian appetizer ideas for Superbowl Sunday, and I have narrowed it down to these Top 5 Recipes:

Fantastic Vegetarian Sandwich

I spent my day today sitting through a 7 hour training seminar...Thankfully they fed us! My manager, or somebody who must care about me and my tummy, told someone in charge of food that I am a vegetarian. Along with the great looking deli meat sandwiches that we're catered in, they also brought a delicious artichoke quinoa salad, and one lonely vegetarian sandwich. This sandwich was just so fabulous, I would love to try and make it for myself again!

All of these tasty ingredients sliced and layered up in a ciabatta style bun :