The most perfect sugar cookie

This is not a roll and cut out dough; this is one you form a ball, squash it a bit with the bottom of a glass or your hand, and sprinkle with sugar or wait and leave blank to add a swirl of frosting later.  You could make it into a cut out dough though by adding about 1/2 cup more flour and chilling the dough before rolling out on a floured surface and cutting them.

The most perfect sugar cookie

1/2 c real butter
1/2 c Crisco brand shortening
1 1/2 c Morena Pure Cane Sugar
2 eggs
2 t Watkins Original Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/4 t baking powder

Cream the butter, shortening, sugar and eggs till fluffy.  Add the vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients and beat until until blended, scrape down the sides when needed.  If it's really sticky you could add a little more flour by tablespoons but don't get too much flour in there or your cookies will be too cakey.

Form balls about 1 1/2 inches and place on a baking sheet.  Flatten the tops with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, or use your hand.  Sprinkle with additional sugars or sprinkles or leave plain.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool on pan about 1 minute before removing from pan to cool completely.

Homemade Turkey Burgers - So Simple and Yet So Good

In August of 2006 I gave you a great recipe for turkey burgers using just a couple ingredients to somehow produce the most delicious and simple burger.  Considering that was about eleven years ago... it's time to post it again.

If you are like me, you will look at this short list of ingredients want to embellish it and add 'more' of something or other.  You can of course - it's your kitchen - your food - your choice.  But you really don't have to.  It's good just like this!


Turkey Burgers

1 1/4 lb. good quality ground turkey
1/2 c bread crumbs
2 t hot sauce (like Frank's brand)
2 t fresh minced garlic
fresh cracked black pepper
dash of salt


Mix together with your hands and form into patties. Cook over medium heat in 2 T olive oil. Cook approximately 5 minutes, flip and continue cooking another 5 minutes until done. Serve on a bun with fresh lettuce, sliced tomatoes and ketchup. My kids always loved to put homemade Ranch dressing on theirs and now that my son is 25... he still does.

patties ready to be cooked

Chicken and Long Grain Wild Rice Soup

If I can get this post finished and you can actually read it, I'll consider it an accomplishment!  I'm currently out of state again; helping babysit a 17 month old and a 3 year old this week.  While I'm sitting at the kitchen table trying to finish this post, I'm also helping coloring Halloween pictures and practice writing a-b-c and 1-2-3.... and apparently trying to teach 'sharing' to a very belligerent three year old.  

Last night we had a yummy chicken and long grain rice soup I whipped up.  I was able to make it while the little ones were napping and let it simmer slowly on the stove until it was time to eat.  I wanted to use 'my' regular recipe but it's currently written in a notebook, sitting in my kitchen, about 800 miles away.  Instead, I remembered some of it from memory and had to improvise on the rest using the 'typical' and average chicken and wild rice soup mixture online. 

It was pretty good - not exactly 'mine' but until I can get back home and recall just what it was I was missing in this one, it will do.  I did improvise with a few things and hope you do if you wish.  I happened to have a box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice boxed mix in the pantry of the house I'm staying in so I used that in this recipe because the wild rice mixture they had hardly had any long grain wild rice in it.  I really loved the addition.

Last note:  Like most similar rice dishes and even soups or stews in general, the leftovers get very thick.  If you want to eat it nice and thick just heat it up as is (it will thin a bit of course when hot) but you can also add water to thin it to the consistency you wish; and the flavor is not diminished.

Chicken and Long Grain Wild Rice Soup


1 c rice/long grain wild rice mixture cooked according to the package to make about 2 cups
             or use 3/4 c long grain white rice with 1/4 c wild rice, cook according to directions
8 c chicken broth (or use 8 cups water with 8 cubes chicken bouillon)
1 c chopped celery
1 c diced, sliced, chopped carrots
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t poultry seasoning or a dash of thyme and sage
1/4 c dried parsley
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
1 can mushroom soup
2 c chicken - cooked and chopped or diced
1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice with season packet


Cook your long grain white and wild rice according to the package directions of the brand you chose.  Mine called for a quick boil and simmering 45 minutes.  I added my raw chicken to it and cooked them both at the same time.

Simmer the chicken broth, celery, carrots, mushrooms and seasonings for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Melt the 1/2 cup butter and stir it into the flour to make a paste.  Whisk this into the hot broth.  Add the mushroom soup, rice, chicken and if you choose to use it, the package of long grain rice and seasoning packet (totally optional).  Heat through and serve.  I served with a garlic Naan bread warmed in the oven.

My Grandmother's Recipe Box: Devils Food Cake

The first week of October I did a post to explain a new series I was doing on An American Housewife after I decided to photograph & post-to-save old handwritten recipes of my grandmothers.

Today has been an emotionally 'busy' day and I need to just decompress a bit and focus on something else for a bit so I decided to do the next recipe in the series.

This one gave me a heck of a time trying to figure it out!  It's so incredibly loved that it's impossible to read.  I had my husband and one of my daughter's give me their best guess and then I took a photo of the card and blew up to about 400%, changed the contrast, etc. and I finally got it based on what I could read and the list of ingredients. I've traced over the ingredients to make them easier to read.

Devils Food Cake

1 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon soda
2 tbsp cocoa
1 teasp vanilla

The best batter for homemade batter fried fish, shrimp, oysters, octopus, calamari and chicken strips

Seafood and Chicken Strip Batter
You can double this too if you want/need to


1 cup flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
2 t salt
1/2 t onion powder
4 t yellow mustard
1 egg
1 c sparkling water
Seafood or chicken, etc. you want to batter and fry

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Beat the egg in a separate bowl but only until just blended; don't over beat.  Pour the carbonated water into the egg, stir briefly and add to the dry ingredients.  Mix or whisk quickly just till blended; again, don't over beat.

Dip pieces of seafood of your choice or pieces of chicken into the batter and fry in hot oil until golden brown - be sure to turn a couple times so they cook evenly and don't crowd the pan.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve hot.



I had some mixed seafood in the freezer so I just thawed that and used it.  Oysters are my favorite!

The dry ingredients in one bowl

Sparkling water mixed with the eggs

Just mix until blended; don't over beat

Shrimp, oysters, chicken pieces... it's up to you!  Have your oil hot and ready to go