Oatmeal Cookies

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cider or white vinegar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, quick cooking or old-fashioned
• 1 cup golden raisins, optional; I used craisans
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, light-colored preferred.
2. Beat together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vinegar until fairly smooth; a few tiny bits of butter may still show.
3. Beat in the egg, again beating until smooth.
4. Add the baking soda and flour, beating until well incorporated.
5. Add the oats (and raisins or craisins), stirring to combine.
6. Drop the dough in 1 1/4" balls onto the prepared baking sheets; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. If you're measuring, this is about 2 level tablespoons (using a tablespoon measure, not a dinner spoon). Space the cookies 2" apart; they'll spread.
7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, reversing the pans halfway through (top rack to bottom, bottom to top). For softer cookies, bake the lesser amount of time; for crunchier, the longer amount. At 12 minutes, especially if you're baking on a dark pan without parchment, a few of the cookies on the edge should just barely be showing a pale brown around their edges. At 14 minutes, they should be starting to color all over.
8. Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool right on the pan.
9. Yield: 20 cookies.
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Anita's Cheddar Cheese Pecan Crackers

8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup salted butter, VERY COLD
1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
pecan halves

Using a food processor with grater blade, grate log of extra sharp cheddar cheese and then grate COLD butter on top of it.  Change to plane blade and mix in other ingredients.  Add a tsp of water (up to 3) and it should all come together in a ball.   

Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape it into a 1-inch-diameter log. Twist the ends of the parchment or plastic wrap to seal. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes - I do overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and place on a cutting board. Cut the log into ⅛-inch-thick slices and place ¼ inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Put a pecan half in center of each cracker.

Bake until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the crackers to cool completely.  The crackers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Garlic Asparagus Orzo

• 1 cup dry orzo
• 1- pound fresh asparagus, tips only (cut the asparagus about 2 to 3-inches from the top)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4- cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (optional)
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• shredded parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

Garlic Herb Chicken and Asparagus

3-6 chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts (breasts pounded to even 1/2 inch thickness)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (see note)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste

fresh herbs for garnish (optional)

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan/skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic and herbs and cook another minute or so until the garlic is fragrant.

Reduce heat to medium, add chicken to pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook another 5-7 minutes. (Chicken should be nearly, but not completely cooked through by this point)

Scoot the chicken over the sides and add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the empty portion of the pan. Once the butter is melted, add asparagus. Season asparagus with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, rotating throughout, for 4-6 minutes until tender and chicken is completely cooked through.

Serve immediately garnished with freshly cracked black pepper and fresh herbs if desired.

Recipe Notes

In place of the dried basil, oregano, and thyme, you can use about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

Anita's Brussels Sprouts Casserole

1 pounds brussels sprouts, cleaned and trimmed

1 to 1 1/4 cups grated sharp Cheddar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon picked fresh thyme leaves (I used dried)

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup heavy cream 

Topping:

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used dried)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Chop brussels sprouts into 1/8-inch slices with a chopper, or by hand.  Add to a bowl. Add the Cheddar, flour, thyme, garlic and some salt and pepper to the bowl. Toss to combine. Add the mixture to a sprayed 8- by 8-inch baking dish, packing it in. Pour over the heavy cream.

In a small bowl, combine the panko, Parmesan and oil and parsley.  Sprinkle evenly over the brussels sprouts mixture.  (I doubled the topping as it was so good)

Bake uncovered until the brussels sprouts are tender, the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

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Anita's Pistachio Cherry Meltaway Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3.4 ounce package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
optional green food coloring

1/2 cup dried cherries chopped finely

With a stand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, pudding mix, and flour. Mix until combined. The mixture may seem dry at first but will come together after beating.
Add the almond extract and green food coloring if you want the cookies with a brighter green color.
Finely chop the dried cherries. Gently mix in the chopped cherries.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Take a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place cookie on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet. Once completely cooled sprinkle cookies with additional powdered sugar.

Anita's Corned Beef

This is how I did the corned beef this year - and it was really good! 

Took an almost 4 lb corned beef on top of a quartered onion in the crock pot. Put in 1 bay leaf and the seasoning packet from the corned beef on top. Poured one bottle of beer (I used Michelob Ultra) over top. Covered and cooked on low setting for about 8 hours. 

Took out the beef - poured the liquid and onion into big pot on stove. Put the corned beef back into crock pot on warm. Added chicken stock and water to the big pot - came to a boil and then added halved red potatoes - cooked them until done - removed to bowl and then added a cut up cabbage. Only cooked the cabbage until al-dente as I like it to have crunch! All was fantastic!!