Pink Lemonade Cookies

It's a dreary, rainy day here in Charleston. I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to do today, but this weather is making me want to crawl back in bed. I haven't ruled that out...thunder, lightning, and a scared 4 year old woke me up at 4:30am. Been up ever since. Just gonna be one of those days I suppose.

Anyway! With summer here, and cookouts and get togethers happening on the weekends, here's a tasty little snack to serve your friends and family. Lemonade and summer go hand and hand, so lemonade cookies should fit right in as well.

This is a simple recipe that even someone who really doesn't like to bake at all (yes, that would be me), can whip up in no time. Jesse and I pretty much demolished these cookies over the weekend. Heath had one, but he didn't really care them. He's not a big lemonade drinker...oh well. His loss was our gain!

Ok guys, have a good rest of your Monday. While I'd like to say I'm gonna get things done, I'm probably just gonna take a nap. Hopefully the sun will be shinning tomorrow!

'Pink Lemonade Cookies'

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

Cookies
1 pouch sugar cookie mix (1lb 1.5oz)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate (thawed)

Pink Lemonade Frosting

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons frozen pink lemonade concentrate (thawed)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.

2. In large bowl, mix all cookie ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or just until edges begin to brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

4. In medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup butter, the powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons lemonade concentrate with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 1 tablespoon concentrate, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed for desired consistency. Frost cookies.

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Banana Honey Feta Crescents

Here's another 'crescent creation' from Mama Loves Food. These were a tasty little lunch snack.*Sigh*, yeah...they ended up being my lunch. I looked at the clock one afternoon and realized it was almost 1pm and I hadn't eaten anything. That's when I decided to make these...and eat 4 of them.

The original recipe called for blue cheese, but I can't stand the stuff, so I switched it to crumbled feta. Worked out just fine! Of course, this is a super adaptable recipe...you can use any type of cheese you like, or even skip the cheese altogether and use peanut butter, Nutella, or chocolate or strawberry syrup. The possibilities are endless really.

Ok guys, hope you have a fun weekend! I have a crap-ton of yard work to do to get this house looking spiffy for our upcoming move. Around 12 bags of mulch and 15 bails of pine straw are about to assault my poor Miss Millie (my car). Nothing I love more than laying pine straw in the searing sun when it's 96 degrees out...good times :)

'Banana Honey Feta Crescents'

Source: Adapted from Mama Loves Food

Ingredients

Crescent rolls
Banana slices
Honey
Crumbled feta cheese
Pecans (or walnuts), chopped

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375. Unroll crescents onto a large cookie sheet.

2. Place 2-3 banana slices on the wide end of each crescent, then top with nuts, feta cheese, and a drizzle of honey.

3. Roll crescents starting from the wide end and ending at the narrow end.

4. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until crescents are golden.

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Seafood Mac n Cheese

Many years ago, back when we were stationed in D.C., I attempted to make seafood lasagna. I don't remember where I got the recipe from, probably Taste of Home since that's all I read back then, but it remains a source of great amusement for my husband. To say it was awful would be a giant understatement. It was (and still is) one of the worst things I had ever made...in my life.

Since then I've been incredibly wary of paring seafood with any type of pasta. I'm not sure why...my cooking skills have improved ten-fold in the 7 years since that horrible dish exited my oven. I'm much more confident in the kitchen (save for baking...all baked goods hate me). There's nothing I won't attempt to make anymore (though I still like to stick with easy recipes cause I'm just that lazy). So I don't know what the deal is.

When I saw this on Martha Stewart's site, I knew I needed to get my big girl panties on and try this. I love mac n cheese, I love seafood, so it had to be made. Luckily this turned out about a million times better than my seafood lasagna (ya know, edible and all), and this is certainly a recipe I'd make again. Just prep everything you need before you start cooking, and this is a pretty easy dinner! I can't wait to move back to CT and try this with lobster. For some reason it's friggin impossible to find fresh lobster meat here in SC.

Of course, the best seafood mac and cheese in all the world is Hancock's Lobster Mac n Cheese, but that's just me. They've kind of ruined me when it comes to lobster mac n cheese...unfortunately the stuff is so damn expensive that I can only treat myself to it a couple times a year. In the meantime though, this is an excellent recipe to have on hand when I'm hankering for some Lobster mac, but don't want to shell out the $$ for my favorite.

'Seafood Mac n Cheese'

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Salt and ground pepper
1 pound elbow macaroni
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pound coarsely chopped cooked lobster, shrimp, crawfish, or crabmeat (or any combination)
4 cups (1 pound) mixed grated cheeses, such as Parmesan, cheddar, Swiss, and fontina
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni 2 minutes less than al dente. Drain; rinse with cold water. Set aside.

2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter over medium in a large saucepan. Transfer 2 tablespoons melted butter to a medium bowl, and reserve. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add milk; whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg.

3. Remove pan from heat. Fold in seafood, macaroni, and cheese; transfer to a shallow 4-quart baking dish. To the bowl with reserved melted butter, add breadcrumbs and Creole seasoning; toss, and scatter over macaroni mixture.

4. Bake uncovered until topping is golden and sauce is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

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White Bean Chicken Chili

This is my new favorite dinner. Was it that amazing and did I love it that much? Well, no...not exactly. Don't get me wrong, it was really good, and super easy, but Jesse loooooved it. THAT is why it's my new favorite. He has been such an annoyingly picky eater lately that I am all over anything he he'll actually eat (except those disgusting Banquet frozen dinners. I'll never be cool with that). This is a super easy dish. It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, but about 30 of those minutes are spent allowing the pot to simmer.

Heath was out of town when I made this...it makes a lot and since Jesse loved it so much I didn't want to waste the leftovers. Using a trick I saw on Pinterest, I spooned the remaining chili into a muffin tin (sprayed with cooking spray) and stuck it in the freezer. One frozen I popped out each puck and placed them in a large zip-lock bag. Now I can thaw a re-heat as much or as little as I want on nights when he's being a brat about dinner...super handy!

'White Bean Chicken Chili'

Source: Adapted from How To Simplify

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups cooked chicken shredded (I shredded a pre-cook rotisserie from the store)
2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can green chilies  (4 oz)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 box  chicken broth (32 oz)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Juice from 1 lime

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute the onion and cook until it starts to become translucent (3-4 minutes).

2. Once the onion is done, add shredded chicken, beans, corn, green chilies (with juice from can), cumin and oregano to the pot. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then add the chicken broth.

3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and juice from one whole lime.

4. Leave simmering on stove until ready to serve.

Some serving ideas:

Sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded Pepper Jack cheese, avocado or tortilla chips.

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