Well, cooking mates!

Remember you can send your recipes (omenglishblog@gmail.com) and we’ll put them in the blog!

This week…

Raspberry butter cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 225 g softened butter
• 135 g sugar
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 115 g raspberry jam

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Gradually, add the flour. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll into 2 cm balls. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, press in the centre of the balls. Fill with jam.
2. Bake at 180 ºC for 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove and spoon additional jam into cookies if desired.

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Other recipes

OLIVE CHEESE BREAD

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (1 pound) loaf unsliced French bread

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients.
2. Slice bread in half widthwise and lengthwise; place on a baking sheet. Spread cheese mixture over cut sides of bread.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Some infromation about apples:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

An apple a day also may keep away memory loss, asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and tooth loss. Crisp, new details:

• Memory. Drinking 2 cups of apple juice or eating two to three apples a day may boost production of acetylcholine, often lacking in Alzheimer’s patients. When University of Massachusetts Lowell researchers gave apple juice concentrate to elderly mice with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, they did better on learning maze tests and had more acetylcholine.
• Cancer. An Italian study showed that eating at least an apple a day cut risk of cancer of the mouth and pharynx by 21%; esophagus, 25%; colon, 20%; breast, 18%; ovaries, 15%; prostate, 9%.
• Asthma. Apples are rich in an antioxidant called apigenin that, in animal tests in Japan, suppressed responses leading to asthma and allergies. Apigenin also is found in beans, broccoli, celery, cherries, grapes, onions and parsley.
• Diabetes. Harvard investigators found that women who ate an apple a day were 28% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women who ate none.
• Heart. Eating apples may help stifle blood clots and plaque in arteries, which lead to heart disease. Example: Eating two more apples or 11/2 cups of 100% apple juice a day slowed changes in bad LDL cholesterol that contribute to artery-clogging plaque, says University of California-Davis research. And European studies suggest less fatal heart disease and 40% fewer strokes in apple eaters.
• Teeth. Harvard epidemiologists say men who stopped eating apples were more apt to lose their teeth.

TIPS:

• Eat the skin. It can have 6 times more antioxidants than the flesh.
• Red Delicious is tops in antioxidants.

DEDE

THE WORLD’S BEST LASAGNA

DEDE

—ED

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

dede

BROWN SUGAR POUND CAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Mix together the flour and baking powder; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Sir in the chopped pecans. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

DEDDE

BROWNIES

These chocolate brownies are easy to mix up in a saucepan, and they’re chewy, moist, and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

PREPARATION:

Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool. With a whisk, beat in the vanilla and sugar.

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup butter
  

  PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream sugars, eggs and butter. Sift dry ingredients into butter.
3. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes .