Best Ever Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.
3 Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4 Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5 Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
6 Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
7 Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture.
8 Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.
9 Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.
10 Remove from pan immediately.

Roast Turkey

1, 10-12 lb Turkey (thawed)
1 stick room temp (softened) butter
1 bag poultry fresh herb mix (there will be rosemary, sage and thyme in it)
1 lemon
1 onion
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 325

Wash and PAT DRY the whole turkey, cavity, under the skin and on the skin. (if you take your hand and run it between the muscle and skin it should separate easily.) (as DRY as you can get with paper towels).Season the whole bird, inside and out with salt and pepper. Take a few stems of each fresh herb. take the leaves of the herbs and chop up really fine. Mix the chopped herbs with the butter. Rub the butter all over the cavity, under the skin (hence drying under the skin, it still can be hard so I just put chunks under the skin if I can't get it to rub) and all over the outside of the bird.
Quarter the lemon, and onion. Tie the rest of the herbs stems together with string. Stuff the Lemon, onion and herb bundle in the cavity of the turkey.
I roast my turkey in a roasting pan on a rack so the heat can move all around the turkey.

Tent the turkey with foil. Roast for 2 hours (add 15 min extra for every lb more than 12 lbs) Remove the foil, crank the heat to 425 and roast for another hour or until the thermometer reads 165 at thigh meat. Foil again if it's browning to fast.

Let rest for 10 or so min to let juices redistribute.

Sweet Potato/Pumpkin Souffle

filling:
3 C. cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 C. Sugar (I normally don't use sugar with sweet potatoes, and I use only 1/2 cup for pumpkin)
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla

Topping:
1 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 c. chopped nuts
1/2 stick room temp butter

Combine filling and pour into buttered pan. Crumble combined topping over top.
Bake at 400 for 30-40 min.

Scones or Maple Bars

Soften:
2 yeast cakes
1 c. warm water
Add:
1 c. scalded milk
6 t. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
Soften shortening in hot milk and add sugar.
3 well beaten eggs (2 for 1/2 batch)
6 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
Add salt to flour and add to milk, yeast, & eggs. Beat with a spoon or mixer, dough will be soft. Let rise once then roll and cut into diamond shape. Let rise & fry in deep fat.
Makes about 50.
Takes 2 hours to make.

homemade chicken nuggets

Fun for a super casual meal! And I loved them with bbq sauce. This is how I like chicken nuggets!!! I want to make a TON and freeze them for quick lunches...we will see how ambitious I get someday.

3 big chicken breasts

wet mix:
2 eggs
Splash Milk
1/2 t. salt
pepper
dashes garlic powder
dashes dill
2-3 splashes franks hot sacue


1-2 cups flour
1 - 1/2 t. salt
Pepper
1 - 1/2t. garlic powder
dashes dried onion (wish I had onion powder)
dashes dill (don't over due it)
about 1/2-1 tsp powder sugar (I know, weird. a few recipes called for it..don't know why, but it turned out so so good that I will probably do it again.)

Let chicken bits soak in egg mixture for 15 or so min. Fry in canola oil until golden brown.

Japanese Pumpkin - Kabocha

Ingredients:

1 pound pumpkin
To boil pumpkin:
1 1/2 cups dashi (bonito fish stalk - dashi) or chicken stock
2 1/2 TBS. sugar
1 1/2 TBS. soysauce
1 TBS mirin (sweet rice wine)

Preparation, Cooking and Serving

1. Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds and wash. Cut into 2-inch squares. Slice off skin here and there to give surface a mottled look and to enable flavor of broth to seep in.
2. Put pumpkin skin side down into saucepan, add dash, sugar and mirin. Cover and boil 7 to 8 minutes over medium heat. After 4 to 5 minutes, turn pieces over gently one by one.
3. Add soy sauce and continue to boil 7 to 8 minutes more, or until tender, turning over once while boiling. Do not overcook.
4. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Teriyaki Chicken, Fish, or Meat

Ingredients:
chicken, fish or meat

Teriyaki sauce:
2 TBS. sugar
4 TBS. sake or dry white wine
6 TBS. mirin (sweet rice wine for cooking)
12 TBS. soy sauce

Preparation:

1. Mix ingredients for teriyaki sauce thoroughly until sugar dissolves.
2. Marinate fish in sauce for 10 minutes, turning over occasionally. Drain before cooking.

Cooking:

1. If grilling chicken, meat, or fish, grill as is. If frying, heat frying pan well with oil over medium heat, and sauté fish for 2 to 3 minutes, or until slightly browned. Turn fish over gently, taking care not to break them up. Saute' 2 minutes more, then drain off excess oil. For frying meat and chicken, sauté to desired wellness on each side.
2. Add teriyaki sauce left over from marinating, and cook until fish and meat ware well-coated, or for 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve chicken, meat, or fish hot with watercress and grated white radish at the side. To make the radish, peel white radish and grate. Drain but do not press out water. If desired, pour remaining sauce from the frying on top of chicken, meat, or fish.