Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies with Nutella Frosting

Who doesn't love sugar cookies?

They are the ultimate holiday cookie, or the anytime cookie, that will never cease to disappoint.

However this time i decided to make my sugar cookies with whole wheat flour in order to sneak some nutrition into my sons picky diet. 

Needless to say the score is Mom: 1 James: 0

While making these please be prepared for a ton of cookies dough! 

Luckily it freezes beautifully : )

DRY INGREDIENTS 

• 6 cups white whole wheat flour, I prefer to use the King Arthur brand
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt 

(mix all together in a separate bowl)

WET INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup shortneing 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 1 cup sour cream    

DIRECTIONS 

Blend all wet ingredients together until smooth 

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients 

Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours 

Roll out your cookie dough and use your favorite cookie cutter

Bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes

Let cool.

While your waiting for them to cool you can go ahead and make the frosting. 

You can use whatever recipe you would like for frosting but i prefer to make Nutella Frosting, our favorite.

NUTELLA FROSTING

I prefer to use my stand mixer for this while keeping it on the lowest setting, the slower you go the smoother your frosting will be. 

Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, for about 3 minutes or longer until its smooth and creamy.  

Add 2 cups confectioners sugar and blend well, it should be slighty thick at this point.

Add 3/4 cup Nutella and mix until completely blended

Add 3-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add a pinch of salt, or more upon a taste test, and your ready for take off

If the you want the frosting thicker, add more confectioners sugar.

Thinner, add more cream.

Enjoy!

-Ginger out

Bean and Bacon Soup

My son is in love with Cambell's bean and bacon soup, so i figured i would take a crack at making it myself, and to make things even better i found a recipe that uses a crockpot!!

Super simple and fast, however make sure to start this soup early. The recipe states that you cook this soup for a total of 8 hours but i found it took a little more time until the beans were tender, however it could just be my crockpot as well, but just a heads up :)

WARNING:
This makes a TON of soup, this recipe filled my 5-quart crockpot up to the brim. However i am thinking this soup will freeze well, but i will keep you posted.

INGREDIENTS

• 32 oz dried northern beans
• 1 lb bacon
• 2 onions diced
• 1/2 carrots diced
• 4 stalks celery diced
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Sort beans and remove any debris
2. Rinse beans under cold water
3. Fry bacon in skillet till crispy
4. Add all ingredients to crockpot
5. Cook on high for 2 hours. Then cook on low for about 6 hours or until the beans are tender 
6. Remove bay leaf and enjoy

Happy cooking!

Ginger out


*After sharing with my Tata he suggested that i pureed some of the beans and add a little more water, next time i make it i will be trying it that way :)

Taco Soup

Cooking with my crock pot is by far my favorite way to cook. Just a few simple steps and dinner is taken care of before noon, and with a busy schedule its nice to know you already have dinner taken care of. 

Here is a recipe for "Slow cooker taco soup" that was given to me by my best friend and has been slightly altered.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef 
• 1 (2.5 oz) package taco seasoning
• 1 (1 oz) ranch dressing mix
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes 
• 1 (15.5 oz) can corn, undrained
• 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, undrained
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato sauce 

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook beef until crumbly, evenly browned and no longer pink. Drain and transfer beef into a slow cooker and sprinkle both taco and ranch seasonings.
2. Add the diced tomatoes, corn, and black beans, all with their liquid, to the slow cooker. Stir the black olives, onion and tomato sauce into the ground beef mixture. Cook on low until the vegetables are completely tender, about 5 hours.

When we make this I will usually garnish with some tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese and avocados.

Hopefully this will please your hearts and your tummys

Ginger Out