Paige's Picks

My dear friend Paige is such a creative cook and she recently sent me links and a couple pics to some of her favorite recipes (thanks Paige!!) - just adding them here is making my mouth water... try them out & let us know what you think! :)

Eggs Florentine

Raspberry Filled Crepes

Black Bean Chili
(*As pictured above... Paige says she makes this once a week & tops with cilantro, cheddar & sour cream. Yum.)

Cheddar Dill Cornbread
(a perfect compliment to the aforementioned chili)

Chicken Souvlaki with Grilled Pita

Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Eggplant Gratin

*And, a few of Paige's own!

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

• 1 lb. lean, grass fed ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1- 16oz can of Rotel
• 3- 16oz cans of black beans
• 1-16oz can of corn, undrained
• 1-4 1/2 oz can of green chiles
• 1-15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 pkg of taco seasoning
• 1 pkg of dry Ranch dressing mix

Cook beef and onion until tender and drain. Combine beef mixture with all other ingredients in stock pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 mins. Makes 3 1/2 quarts.

Thin Mint Sugar Cookies

Thin Mint Sugar Cookies

Cut a roll of sugar cookie dough (store bought) into 1/4" slices. Place a Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie or Keebler Grasshopper if Thin Mints aren't available and sandwich between two slices of sugar cookie dough. (Make a Thin Mint sandwich, basically.) Baste the top of the "sandwiches" with a little egg wash and top with chopped pecans. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Sinfully delicious!

A recipe from a Baylor Women's Alumni Party:

Praline Coffee

• 3 cups of hot brewed coffee
• 3/4 cup of half & half
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 T butter
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• dollop of whipped cream

Heat coffee, half & half, brown sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Remove from heat and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

*Paige, you're awesome for sharing your favorite recipes with me - keep them coming & happy eating!

Pumpkin Bars, Chocolate Toffee Bites & Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

I took a littler Desserty-sert to our Supper Club recently and thought I'd post the recipes here since they actually turned out pretty well :) (ha, they weren't my recipes!) The pumpkin bars were the biggest hit (yay Paula Deen & cream cheese frosting) and I'll definitely make both the cranberry cookies & toffee bites again... Love fall. Love fall desserts.

Chocolate Toffee Bites
Recipe courtesy Gale Grand

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• (*I added 1 cup pecans)
  

Preparation:

Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and caramelize on high heat stirring constantly. It will turn amber brown in about 5 minutes. When it is a uniform caramel color, add the butter and stir it in. Once mostly combined, add the chocolate and stir to blend. Pour it out onto a silpat or parchment lined sheet pan and spread it with an offset spatula 1/8" thick. Let cool and break into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.

*I'd only ever made toffee one other time and I was a bit nervous with this new recipe. Turns out it was really easy and the secret for me was to just keep stirring. Once I poured out the mixture onto my silpat (so fun, get a silpat), I spread the mixture out with a spatula and worried it might look greasy or ugly. Once cooled, I broke it into pieces and it was great! Yummy with coffee. Also, I thought my all-clad sauce pan might never be the same... I just filled it with hot water and the remaining goo melted away :) I'll make this again for sure.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Recipe courtesy Beth Setrakian

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamon
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• *I added 1 cup white chocolate chips
• *I added 1 cup hazelnuts
  

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and stir until well blended. Add dried cranberries (I also added white chocolate chips and hazelnuts). Drop my teaspoonful onto parchment covered baking sheet. Bake about 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool.

Pumpkin Bars
Recipe courtesy Patty Ronning as adapted by Paula Deen

Ingredients (bars):

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15 oz can of pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
  

Ingredients (icing):

• 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
  

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combine and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 10" baking pan. Bake for 30 mins (*I think I baked mine for closer to 40 in a glass baking pan). Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. *I cut the cake into bars and then iced individually.

Oldies but Goodies Cookies

This is not my recipe, but yum, I love them :) Props to gorgeous Giada at the Food Network!

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces English toffee candy (recommended: Heath or Skor bar), finely chopped
• 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped
• 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips. For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)