Fruit Tart

Irene and Mollie wanted to make a beautiful fruit tart like the ones they sell at Wegman's.  We bought fresh blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, and raspberries.  The tart has a shortbread crust, and vanilla cream filling, topped with slices of fresh fruit and berries.
Scottish Shortbread:
1 pound butter (no substitutes)
1 cup sugar
5 cups sifted flour- cake or bread flour is best

1. Soften butter at room temperature for several hours.  Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add flour.  Blend with a pastry cutter until thoroughly mixed.  Mixing with a spoon or electric mixer will make shortbread tough.
3. Press mixture into 2 greased pie tins.  Prick the tops with tines of a fork.
4. Bake until golden and firm to the touch.  350 degrees, 35-40 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Vanilla Cream
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
zest from 1 orange (the girls used a clementine)

Mix in electric mixer and spread over shortbread.

Top with fruit.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Irene has terrific oatmeal cookies at her friend Caitlyn's.  She hasn't managed to bring me the recipe yet, so I've tweaked my own, and the cookies turned out great anyway.

In the Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe is a note and link on creaming the butter and sugar, fyi.

2 sticks butter, room temperature - not too warm, or the cookies spread out too much
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all-purpose or cake flour
1 Tbl baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup toffee chips

I read up on making cookies, and found a tip for using baking powder instead of baking soda for softer, puffier cookies.  So if you prefer crunchy oatmeal cookies, switch back to 1 tsp baking soda.  Apparently the baking powder is less potent, so you use more of it - three times as much.  I also read not to use butter that was too soft, and that cake flour works better than all purpose.  I've also used bread flour with good results.  But I usually use all purpose, since I figure the oatmeal is going to disguise the flour's consistency anyway.  Instead of butterscotch chips or toffee chips, you could use dried blueberries or cranberries or craisins or raisins, chocolate chips (I prefer mini chips here), white chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips, and walnuts or pecans, chopped.  Or you could split your dough in half and make two different kinds of cookies at once.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
Stir in oats and chips/fruit/nuts; mix well.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet or into mini muffin pan.
Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.
Makes about 3 dozen.
Or bake in 13x9 pan for 30-35 minutes and cut into bar cookies.
For high altitude, increase flour to 1 3/4 cups. (that's for you, Stephanie, but I bet you're already a pro at that anyway).

The dough can be kept in the fridge for 2 or 3 days so you can cook just a few at a time if you prefer.  If you plan to eat raw dough, use egg beaters instead of fresh eggs.  But this dough isn't as good as cookie dough anyway.  Also, you can use steel cut, or Scottish oatmeal, and the cookies will have a smoother texture.
Today is the start of deer season, and we're really looking forward to fresh venison.  Mom and Dad are coming to visit on the day after Thanksgiving so Dad can go hunting with Bart.  Someday I'll get my license and a gun and join them.  I sight with my right eye, so can I use a right handed gun?  Allen has a left handed one, but the stock is too long for my arms.  Anyway.  It's really just the meat I want, not the hunt in itself.  So as long as Dad and Bart are willing to go out and get it for me, I'll stay home.
Banana Bread coming soon.
Love,
  Kathleen

Peanut Butter Pie

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1 Tbl milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 carton (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 graham cracker or chocolate cookie crusts

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and milk until smooth.  Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spoon into crusts.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  Yield: 2 pies

Breakfast Burritos

Bart and I had these this morning.
4 eggs, whipped well with a fork
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese
(add whatever ingredients you like - this is what I had handy today)

Melt bacon fat (I keep this in the frig all the time) and fry mushrooms about 5 minutes.  Remove mushrooms from pan and pour eggs into pan.  Sprinkle with mushrooms and cheese.  Cover with lid and cook until eggs are done and puff up a bit.  Remove from pan.  Heat tortillas on pan, one at a time. Put cooked egg mixture over middle of burrito and put a little salsa over it (like you would put mustard on a hot dog), and fold both sides of burrito over it.  Enjoy!

Lasagna

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups water
2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (12 oz) tomato paste
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp sugar
2/3 bag of baby spinach leaves (put the rest in salad to go with dinner)
1 tsp black pepper
18 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
3 cups small-curd cottage cheese
1 cup light sour cream
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese

In a deep frying pan, cook beef and garlic over medium heat 
until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the water, tomato 
sauce, tomato paste, soup mix, spices and sugar.  Reduce 
heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Mix cottage cheese with sour cream.

Spoon 1 cup meat into each of 2 greased 13x9 pans.  
In each pan, layer 3 noodles, 1/6 each of the cottage cheese mix, then mozzarella cheese, then spinach leaves, then meat sauce and finally parmesan cheese.  Repeat layers twice (3 layers in all).

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.  Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer. 
 Let stand for 10 minutes before serving (this gives you time to pop the garlic bread in the oven).