Trista Thinnes

Sugar cookies

These cookies are soft with a chewy center. They might be the easiest sugar cookies ever. They will NOT make good cookies for icing. They are too soft in the center.

Do not melt the butter for this. Instead, let it set on the counter until very soft. I set mine out for 1-2 hours before baking. Melted butter will make flat cookies. The soft chewy center forms when the butter is the perfect temperature.

1/2 cup butter, very soft

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add the vanilla and egg. Mix thoroughly. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the flour and mix fully. Roll into tablespoon size balls. Bake on silicone mat for 8-10 minutes. Do not let them brown.

Chocolate sheet cake

Dessert

I changed the recipe from the Pioneer woman’s chocolate sheet cake slightly. The reason I made changes were to decrease the butter and sugar amounts slightly. It is still darn good this way and it bakes perfectly! The lower sugar makes the cake taste much more like a dark chocolate cake. It is more of a mildly sweet cake than a very sugary cake. In total, I removed from her recipe almost 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup white sugar, and 2 cups of powdered sugar. I also added cinnamon!

This recipe makes a cake that fits in a large baking sheet. It could easily be cut in half if needed. If I did decrease the recipe size, I would recommend baking it in a 9×13 pan because the cake is better thinner.

Cake:

2 sticks of butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup water

Icing:

1 stick butter

1 cup chopped/ground pecans

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons milk

4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the cake, melt the butter in a sauce pan with the water, cinnamon, and cocoa on medium heat. Stir constantly. Remove from the heat when just melted.

In a mixing bowl, mix the eggs and buttermilk until combined. Add the sugar, vanilla, and baking soda. Slowly add the melted butter and chocolate. Temper this by adding 1/8 cup at a time and stirring after each addition until fully combined. Add in the flour. Stir until combined. Pour into a prepared large baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

While baking, add the icing amount of 1 stick of butter, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla into the same saucepan. Melt the butter stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add in the powdered sugar and pecans.

Pour the icing over the hot cake immediately when removed.

Allow the cake to cool fully before eating.

Jalapeño hominy casserole

jalapeno, Side dishes

This is NOT my recipe. It comes from an online source copycatting Perini ranch steakhouse in Buffalo gap, Texas. This hominy is simple to make and very good. In fact, I hated hominy until I ate this. It is quite unique. I changed the recipe I found just slightly. I think it said to use poblano peppers and I chose red bell peppers.

5-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1 15 ounce can white hominy

1/4 cup hominy liquid from can

1 small yellow onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup pickled jalapeños, diced

2 tablespoons picked jalapeño juice

Cook bacon and remove from pan but reserve grease. In the same pan, add back 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease. Add the onion and red bell pepper and sauté until tender or about 10 minutes. When cooked, add in drained hominy, bacon, cheese, pickled jalapeño, reserved hominy juice and pickled jalapeño juice.

This can be made ahead and refrigerated if needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all into a prepared 8×8 casserole pan. Add additional cheese if desired. Bake for 30-40 minutes uncovered.

Hatch green chili salsa

Garden creations, hot sauce

1.5 whole garlic, roasted

5-6 medium ripe tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

4 tablespoons lime juice

2 Hatch chili’s roasted

2 medium yellow onions, roasted

For tips on roasting the chili, onion, and garlic please see my Hatch chili salsa verde recipe.

Bring the tomatoes and oil to medium high heat in a skillet on the stove. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Cover and turn of heat. Allow to sit covered for 10 minutes. Peel tomatoes if desired. I would peel if you plan to leave the salsa chunky and leave the skins if you want it less chunky.

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until desired consistency. Best if left in refrigerator for at least 6 hours prior to eating.

Roasted Hatch chili salsa verde

Garden creations, hot sauce

If you are like my husband and I, once you start making salsa from scratch, you will never want to buy jars of salsa again. It just does not taste the same. It is really simple to make. We roast our vegetables on a propane grill but you could also use the oven. The oven will give it a slightly different flavor.

2 Hatch chilis, washed and whole

5 large tomatillos, peeled and washed but keep whole

3 small yellow onions, peeled and halved

1.5 heads of garlic, keep whole

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 cup cilantro

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Roast the Hatch chilis, tomatillos, onion, and heads of garlic at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Allow them to cool. Peel the Hatch chilis and the garlic. Only remove the seeds from the chilis if you want mild salsa.

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. We use our Ninja.

This is best if allowed to sit in the refrigerator for at least 6-12 hours before eating it.

Pork empanadas

Dinner, jalapeno

My husband loves smoking pork shoulders. The average weighs about 9 pounds of meat. I run out of ideas for all the leftovers. I can only handle so many pulled pork sandwiches. This is a great way to use the leftover pork and it does not taste leftover. In fact, you can assemble these and freeze them for easy later use. One batch makes about 8-10 very large empanadas.

Dough:

12 tablespoons cold butter

3 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 cup cold water

Pulse the flour, salt, and butter in a food processor until combined. It will appear like coarse crumbs. Mix the water, egg, and vinegar. Pour over the flour and continue to pulse until just combined. Flour the surface and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a least 2 hours.

Filling:

3 cups leftover smoked pork

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon mexican oregano

1 small can diced green chilis with juice

4 small jalapenos

Pulse all of the above in a food processor until it has a pate consistency. The jalapeno does not need to be seeded.

Egg wash:

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

Mix the egg and water together. Set aside to brush the top of the pies.

When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough on a floured surface to 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Cut circles that are 6-8 inch diameter using a template or cereal bowl up-side-down. Place an egg sized amount of filling on the circle. Fold over half of the circle. Press down the edge over the filling using a fork. Place the pies on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Brush the top using egg wash. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.

Vinegar based coleslaw

Side dishes

This is a very light and flavorful salad for summer. It is so easy to make and requires little to no effort.

1/2 small head of cabbage sliced

1 cup shredded carrot

3 green onions, sliced

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix together the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and celery salt. Pour this over a mixture of the cabbage, carrot and green onion. Mix well. Refrigerate for about 8-10 hours prior to eating.

Mexican Picadillo

Uncategorized

This is an flavorful but simple braised meal that is a comfort food but also cooks in about 30-45 minutes. I really enjoy that most of it comes from our garden. That makes everything taste more fresh.

Serve this with white or cilantro lime rice and fresh tortillas.

I am not a fan of raisins in this dish.

Sauce:

4-5 roma or small tomatoes

1/2 of a white onion

jalapeno – not seeded. I used 5 small ones

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder

Meat:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 pounds 93% ground beef

1/2 of a diced white onion

salt to taste

2 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

For the sauce, place all ingredients in a food processor and puree.

Next, sauté the beef on medium heat. When fully browned, add the oil and onion. Cook 3-4 minutes. Add the potato and carrot. Stirring often, cook another 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the beef mixture. Stir. Reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid and cook 10 minutes. Remove the lid. Add 1/2 cup more water if needed and stir. Cook another 10 minutes. Serve with rice and tortillas.

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Banana oatmeal bread

Bread, Breakfast

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 small bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup flour

1 cup quick oats

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream the shortening and sugar using a mixer. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Add the milk, bananas, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Finally, add the flour and oats. Pour into a greased and floured baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until tooth pick inserted into center comes out clean.

Sour cream noodle bake

Dinner

I know that this is a classic midwest dish. My mom made it regularly when we were growing up. It was popular with us before it was even really popular. I changed it slightly to add more flavor in the sauce. I had tried fresh garlic in a few batches but it honestly is not very good. The garlic powder makes a difference.

1-1.5 pounds 80% ground beef

15 ounces tomato sauce

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper

1 green pepper, diced

8 ounces egg noodles

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup sliced green onion

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Cook the ground beef in a skillet (breaking it to small pieces) until done. Drain the meat. Replace in the pan with tomato sauce, garlic, green pepper, onion, salt and pepper. Cook while stirring often for about 20-30 minutes.

Boil water in a pot and cook the egg noodles. Drain when at desired texture. Place the noodles back in the pot. Stir in the cottage cheese, sour cream, and green onions.

Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Begin layering the meat, then noodles, the meat, etc. Make the final layer meat and then top with cheese.