Taste of home recipes I have tried
It’s been a while! Life has been busy and full of ups and downs the past couple years! My husband Jim was deployed to Afghanistan and got back just over a year ago. So with Jim being away and then returning we spent much of the time after he returned traveling and visiting family and friends we have finally started to settle down and get back into our normal routines.
We recently spent a few days in Cape Cod Massachusetts with friends. We went to Provincetown and did some shopping and dined at a terrific Italian restaurant on the water, visited the Mayflower and Plymouth Plantation. While we were there we purchased 3 pounds of fresh cranberries right from the bog. When we got home I could not wait to do some baking with all the cranberries. This cookie recipe is a new holiday favorite, I’m already planning to make them again! I shared them with some of our neighbors and they loved them as much as we did!
I made just a couple very small changes to the frosting recipe and you will see those notes in the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of butter softened
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons orange juice
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 Tablespoons hot water…..for this I used fresh squeezed orange juice (not warmed) I also added some of the zest from the orange.
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl cream butter and sugars. Add milk, egg and orange juice, mix well.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and add into the creamed creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries and nuts.
Drop by Tablespoons 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
For the frosting-
Heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat until golden brown , about 5 minutes. Cool for a couple minutes and transfer to a bowl. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Beat in the hot water or in my case fresh sneezed orange juice 1 Tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. I kept my frosting on the thicker side.
Frost the cookies and enjoy!
I could not resist making these muffins after seeing all the garden-fresh vegetables at my grocery store. Our local grocery store carries many products from our local farmers and I just love that. When I saw the zucchini I knew I was going to make this recipe. I hardly ever make changes to any Taste of Home recipe but I did swap out the walnuts for pecans and I added some raw coarse sugar on the top of the muffins just before baking for that bakery-style muffin. I did share some of these with a couple of neighbors and both neighbors gave these muffins a thumbs up!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded and squeeze dried zucchini
- 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- raw coarse sugar to sprinkle on top if desired
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl beat the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moist. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray and fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and sprinkle with raw coarse sugar if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
Enjoy!
Chicken salad sandwiches are one of my favorites because you can make it so many ways. Using a rotisserie chicken makes it that much easier to put together in no time! I used fresh pineapple because I had it on hand and used a green apple because I prefer it. You can certainly make it any way you like! This is so simple but delicious, and perfect for an afternoon lunch or picnic.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup cubed rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 cup chopped apple
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained (or fresh, chopped)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 pita pocket halves
DIRECTIONS
C.ombine the first nine ingredients. Fill the pita pocket halves. With the chicken mixture and lunch is served!
Enjoy!
This is so quick and easy. I love lemon flavors, especially in the summer. I did change this just slightly by adding 1/2 lemon juice and half water instead of 1 cup of water as the recipe calls for and because I love a tart glaze on top I added just that. This is just the right bite with your morning coffee!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 package white cake mix (could use lemon)
- 1 package 3.4 ounce instant lemon pudding
- 1 cup warm water (or 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup lemon juice)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 4 teaspoons poppy seeds
FOR THE GLAZE
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 3-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs, and oil. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in poppy seeds.
Pour into two greased 9×5 loaf pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
For the glaze, simply mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice adding as much lemon juice as you like to get your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled poppyseed bread.
Enjoy!
Well, what a crazy time we have been in! The world has certainly changed significantly since I posted last. But as you all know with the states shutting down and grocery stores at many times being limited it has certainly slowed my cooking down. But like many of you, I have used the time to work on other projects around the house! I will be posting off and on but I hope this first post back finds you all happy and healthy.
I’m going to start this week’s post off with some of my absolute favorite things before Covid-19 took over. This is hands down one of my favorite Taste of Home recipes and my favorite recipe that I made last summer! This was so easy and no one could stop eating it. Our son-in-law Steve in particular loved this!
I also made this using fresh blackberries (that is the picture in this post) and the result was just as good as the blueberry. I may try strawberries next time. I also added some extra crumble of the graham crackers. You won’t be disappointed with this simple and delicious summertime treat!
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries (I used fresh)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 4-5 whole graham crackers coarsely crushed
DIRECTIONS
in a small saucepan combine blueberries, vanilla, and sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until mixture begins to thicken about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool completely. Refrigerate until chilled.
In a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add condensed milk and beat until the mixture thickens. Gently fold in the graham crackers into cream mixture. Transfer to a freezer container allowing headspace to expand. Drop blueberry mixture by tablespoonfuls over the ice cream, cut through the ice cream with a knife,and swirl. Freeze for 8 hours or overnight before serving.
Enjoy!
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