Eggless Sugar Cookie Cutouts

I promised my dad some sugar cookies for Sunday dinner. When I went to start making them, I realized that I didn't have any eggs! I did a little research online and decided to try using plain yogurt as a replacement (which actually was great for me, because happened to have plain yogurt in my fridge that really needed to be used). For each egg, I used 1/4 cup of yogurt. Eggs are also used as leavening, but since there was already baking powder and soda in the recipe, I didn't make any further changes.

I was really pleased with how tasty these cookies turned out! They tasted so good. No one would have even known they were eggless. :) Of course I told everyone. Bragging rights, you know. They weren't quite as fluffy as usual, so next time I might increase the baking powder a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Beat shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add yogurt and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, 1" apart.

Bake at 325°F for 9-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Frost as desired.

Individual Shepherd's Pies

For dinner the other night, I thawed out some ground beef but wasn't sure how to prepare it. I thought a shepherd's pie sounded good, but it seemed like too much for just the two of us. After scouring the Internet a bit, I came up with the idea of making mini-shepherd's pies. Here is the recipe I concocted. I was so pleased with how delicious these turned out! Jeff even liked them so much that he warmed up leftovers the next day! :)

Click here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup dried, minced onions
• 1 tsp dried, minced garlic
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 cups instant mashed potatoes, prepared
• Parmesan cheese, to taste
• Paprika, to taste

Directions:

Brown ground beef, onions, and garlic. Drain fat.
Defrost frozen veggies slightly by running under cold water.
Add soup and veggies to beef mixture.

Spoon mixture into a muffin tin.

Top with prepared mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika.

Place muffin tin on a cookie sheet (in case of overspill). Bake at 350°F for 20 min or until hot.

Enjoy!

This was incredibly tasty; however if I make it again, I would stretch the beef mixture to make 24 mini-pies and increase the amount of potatoes. This would hopefully prevent the spilling over in the oven.

That would be a LOT for the two of us, so I might just make 1/2 the amount of beef mixture to accomplish the same task.

Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter-Pecan Rice

I was a little hesistant to try this recipe from MyRecipes because I thought it might be too sweet for Jeff. He doesn't usually like meats with any type of sweet glaze.

This tasted fantastic!

It definitely won his approval, and I definitely plan on making it again!

The glaze had a perfectly delectable taste, and the rice was magnificent. I don't think I'd ever had a flavored rice before, let alone one with toasted pecans in it! I loved the added crunch from the pecans. :-)

Serve with green beans for one delicious meal!

Total: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cutlet and about 1/2 cup rice)

Ingredients

• 1 (3.5-ounce) bag boil-in-bag brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's) I just used regular white rice - prepared in my rice cooker. Nothing fancy, like boil-in-a-bag. Just what I had on-hand at home.
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 pound chicken breast cutlets (about 4 cutlets)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup refrigerated apple cider
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley This is just a garnish, so I left it out.

Directions

Cook rice according to package directions in a small saucepan, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While rice cooks, melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.

Remove from pan.

Add cider and mustard to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until syrupy.

Add chicken to pan, turning to coat. Remove from heat; set aside.

Melt remaining 5 teaspoons butter in saucepan over medium-high heat; cook for 2 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Lower heat to medium; add pecans, and cook for 1 minute or until toasted, stirring frequently.

Add rice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well to coat.

Serve rice with chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.