Garlic Cheese Biscuits

This is a recipe I found written on the pages of my Babbi's cook book for biscuits. I decided to make them New Years Eve with dinner. They turned out really good and what I love about this recipe is that it is so simple to make.

Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk baking mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Combine baking mix and milk, blending well. Add cheese and green onions and mix well to make sure all ingredients are evenly spread.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and the garlic powder, set aside.
4. Spoon out spoonfuls of mix and drop dough on an greased cookie sheet.
5. Brush butter garlic mix over all uncooked drops of dough.
6. Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes, until the dough becomes firm, but not browned. Enjoy!

Pizookie

Best dessert ever! This is a group favorite for all my friends and I.
If you ever feel like making cookies a tad more interesting then they already are then just make a pizookie (a name stolen from BJ's restaurant). This is achieved by filling a pie pan with your most favorite cookie dough and baking it at 300 degrees F for 20 minutes (do not let the cookie get hard.) Serve the giant warm cookie immediately and top with your most favorite ice cream. Enjoy!!!!

P.S. The picture above is a pizookie made with coffee liqueur chocolate chip cookie dough and mint chip ice cream.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Nothing like some good 'ol mashed potatoes to make any meal great.

Serving Size: 4 people

Ingredients:
6 potatoes, cleaned and chopped into eighths
5 garlic cloves
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste (feel free to substitute garlic salt for salt)

Directions:
1. Fill a large saucepan 2/3rds full of water. Add the potatoes and garlic and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and cook for for 30 minutes or until potatoes are easy to poke with a fork.
2. Remove water from pan with a strainer.
3. Mash potatoes and garlic together, add the remaining ingredients: milk, butter, green onions, and salt and pepper. Mash together until it reaches right consistency.
4. Serve alongside your favorite foods, enjoy!

Babbi's Cook Book

The Anniversary Slovak-American Cook Book

Edited by The Catholic Slovak Ladies Association

One of my most favorite gifts this Christmas was a Slovakian cook book that my mother gave to me. The cook book belonged to my grandmother Babbi and she had set it aside to gift to me this Christmas but due to her passing my mother wrapped it up for me. It is an amazing gift that really touched me emotionally since I still and always will miss my lovely Babbi. My grandmother has used this same cook book for as long as I can remember, it includes many of our traditional Czechoslovakian recipes that my Babbi had used throughout the years. I am so glad that I am now a holder of this cook book so that I can keep our family's food traditions alive.

Miss you Babbi

Merry Christmas 2010

Hello Everyone

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Nick and I had quite a busy but fun one this year. We got back from New York on Monday, worked Tuesday thru Thursday, Christmas Eve with the parents, Christmas with the Sakamotos' and the day after with the Metz-Hansen-Browns'. It was great to spend time with everybody and to see everyone open their gifts.

I have decided that Christmas truly is my most favorite holiday, maybe because the weather is so great or maybe because of all the love people show one another but also because it is a clear reminder of how great our God is to send his only Son to live on Earth to experience the daily struggles like we all do everyday. It truly is a great time and even though it has been over commercialized as a gift giving holiday... I really don't mind giving gifts and spending the money, doing the shopping, the wrapping, the cooking, etc. etc. I actually love giving gifts and what better reason to give gifts to people then Christmas time as a reminder of the gift God gave to us. Plus I love spending time with family and friends while sipping on hot cocoa and enjoying everyone's Christmas decor. It truly is a wonderful time of year and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do or even half as much :) Merry Christmas!



Sidenote about the photo:
One of the coolest things from our trip to NYC was that the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular not only showed the Santa aspect of Christmas but the Christ part of Christmas by including a complete live nativity with live camels and sheep and a quick story of Jesus...pretty awesome in this day and age.

Chili Con Carne with Beans (a slow cooker recipe)

We had a Christmas get-together and so I decided to make some slow-cooker chili. I usually follow a recipe but this time I decided to just wing it from my past chili experiences. This turned out really good and everyone loved it...plus it is so easy to make :)

Serving size: 10 people

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 fresh jalapenos, seeds removed; chopped
1 green chile pepper, seeds removed; chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 lbs ground turkey or beef
1 tbsp each of garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce and chili powder
2-3 pounds stew meat, cut into 1 inch squares
2 16 oz cans of diced tomatoes with jalapenos, not drained
1 16 oz can whole tomatoes
1 16 oz can of corn, drained
1 16 oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 16 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bottle of A1 Steak Sauce
1 10 oz can of tomato sauce
1 8 oz can of tomato paste

Toppings:
Grated cheddar cheese, chopped green onion, and sour cream

Directions:
1. Heat up oil in a large saute pan to medium heat, add the jalapenos, onions, pepper, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the turkey meat and all the seasonings: garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce and chili powder. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the meat is brown throughout.
2. Add meat and veggie mixture to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker: stew meat, diced tomatoes with jalapenos, whole tomatoes, corn, white beans, kidney beans, Steak Sauce, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir ingredients to evenly spread all ingredients throughout.
3. Cook on HIGH for 6 hours. Serve with toppings and enjoy!

New York City

Sorry I haven't been posting much this month but at least I have a good reason.
Nick and I went on a trip to New York!
I have always wanted to go during the Christmas season and so a month ago we planned a spontaneous trip to NYC for the holidays. It was so much fun and we saw everything there is to see in Manhattan and after many many days of wondering the streets we are now back at home just in time for Christmas.
Below is a quick recap of our trip :)

Times Square


Lady Liberty


On Liberty Island, NY City Backdrop


Ellis Island


Federal Hall where Washington was sworn in as President


Remnants of a statue that was originally located at Ground Zero


Wall Street


New York Stock Exchange


Brrrrrr



The Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular


The Rockefeller Building


Rockefeller Center


Grand Central Station/Terminal


New York Public Library


NY Macy's


Santa




View from The Empire State Building at Sunset


Horse Drawn Carriage Ride of Central Park



Ice Skating at night in Central Park




Serendipity3...Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate


St.Patricks Cathedral