Oma’s Nut Cups

*My favorite of Oma's cookie recipes

Dough:

½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup all purpose flour

Blend butter and cream cheese together. Stir in flour. Cover and chill 1 hour. On lightly floured surface, divide dough into 24 balls. Place in ungreased 1¾ inch muffin pans and press evenly against bottom and sides of muffin cups.

Filling:

¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla
Dash of salt
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325°.

Sprinkle 1/3 cup pecans in tart shells. Beat together brown sugar, egg, butter, vanilla, and salt just until smooth. Divide filling among tart shells. Top with additional 1/3 cup pecans. Bake for about 25 minutes, until set. Cool in pan.

Option: Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.

Oma’s Crescents (cookies)

¼ lb butter (1 stick)
½ cup sugar
1 cup of flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ lb nuts finely ground (almonds)

Finely grind nuts and a little bit of sugar in food processor or blender, set aside. Cream the butter and the rest of the sugar together. Slowly add sifted flour and salt. Blend with ground nuts. Add dough to wax paper and roll into bars. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325° - 350°. Slice dough thinly and place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 10 mins.

Option: When cooled, sandwich nutella between two crescents.

Oma’s Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups of flour
½ tsp. baking soda
1 cup oatmeal

Sift flour and baking soda, set aside. Cream the butter with powdered sugar. Add vanilla, and then slowly add flour and baking soda. Mix in oatmeal. Place dough onto wax paper and shape dough into a couple rectangular bars. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325° - 350°. Slice dough thinly and space well (dough will rise) on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for about 10-12 mins and then begin checking the cookies. Remove when golden around the edges.

Option: Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar

Homemade Sloppy Joes

*One of my favorite food network stars is Ellie Krieger, a nutritionist. This is one of her awesome recipes. Not only is it good, its healthy!

1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can small red beans or pinto beans, preferably low sodium drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups no-salt-added tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 whole-wheat burger buns

Brown the meat and the onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and red pepper and cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Place a half-cup scoop of the mixture onto each bun and serve.

Uncle Mark's Favorite Banana Bread

*This is my Busia's recipe. It is definitely a family favorite! My Mom prefers to use a bunt pan.

2/3 cup very soft salted butter/margarine
1 1/3 cup sifted granulated sugar
2 medium sized eggs
1 ½ cup mashed bananas (3-4)
3 cups bread flour (or all purpose flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts/pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder together. Cream butter. Add sugar and one egg at a time until light and fluffy. Add bananas, mix well. Add sifted flour gradually, alternating with buttermilk. Beat only until well blended. Add nuts. Pour into well greased and floured baking dish. Bake for 1 hour covered with tin foil or same sized pan. Raise heat to 400 degrees, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove cover last 5 minutes.

Basil Fried Rice

*I first had Basil Fried Rice in my favorite Davis Thai restaurant, Sofia's. I loved it so much that I decided to search online for a recipe. I found this version, which was originally a vegan dish. I made a few alterations and found it to be delicious. It does not taste quite like my restaurant favorite, but I love it! The " * " represents my additions.

2 Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-3 small fresh red or green chilis, finely chopped
4oz/1cup fresh mushrooms, halved
1 small onion, chopped
8oz/2 cups cold cooked rice
2oz/1 green bell pepper, sliced (*mix red, yellow, green for color)
2oz/1 small bundle long beans or green beans cut into short lengths
1/2 tsp. sugar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
15 basil leaves
*Chicken breast, cut into pieces (I use whatever I have on hand)

In a wok or skillet, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and chilies and fry until garlic is light brown. Add chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and onions and stir quickly until chicken is cooked and veggies are crisp tender. Add cooked rice; stir thoroughly. Add long beans, sugar, and soy and stir thoroughly. At the very end, stir in basil leaves and immediately turn into a serving bowl.