We've come a long way, Baby!

As a lover of all things vintage, I couldn't resist sharing some of these vintage advertisements. 

Here is a Campbell's Soup ad from 1945. I have to admit, I still open up a Campbell's Vegetable Soup for lunch from time to time.  Some things really don't change.

Seriously?  All I had to do was open up a can of Underwood Deviled Ham?  Wonder if this will still work today?

This sugar ad just makes me smile.  Definitely don't see ads talking about the benefits of sugar anymore. :-)

Yep, this will win him over. :-) 
Although, I always loved it when my Mom served us TV dinners.  It was such a rare event, it felt like we were given a treat.

You can check out more ads on Found in Mom's Basement. Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies Made Easy

Christmas is only 5 months away from today.  Have you started your shopping yet?  Just kidding.  I'm a classic procrastinator. While I have the best of intentions, every year, I find myself standing in line on Christmas Eve for one more gift.  You'd think I'd learn.  Given that the Christmas rush is on (wink), it got me thinking about Christmas cookies today.  I have a insatiable sweet-tooth so there aren't very many cookies that I've met that I didn't like.  However, there is something about a frosted, sprinkled sugar cookie.  Did I mention that I'm a procrastinator?  I think I did.  So by the time I set out to make them, I was running short on time.  Can I tell you how happy I was to find these amazing Sugar Cookie Bars?  Problem solved!  It took no time at all to throw these together.  Try them.  You won't be disappointed.  Happy Holidays! ;-)

Here's what you'll need for the cookies:


1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda


Here's what you'll need for the frosting:

1/2 cup butter; at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar (sift after measuring)
3 Tbsp. milk
food coloring, if desired

Prepare bars: In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Mix in vanilla.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt & baking soda. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased, rimmed baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). The dough will be just like cookie dough- heavy & sticky- so you might to spray your hands with a little nonstick spray and use them to help mold the dough into the pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Prepare frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in vanilla, almond flavoring and salt. Add powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Add a few drops of color, if desired. Spread over cooled cookie, then cut into bars.

Yield: 32 bars

Tips:
*Refrigerate the bars until firm… it will be easier to get nice, clean cuts.

Adapted from a Grin and Bake It recipe.   I only changed the frosting, mainly because I didn't have enough powdered sugar. Still very yummy!

Super Veggie-Stuffed Peppers

I love trying new, healthy recipes. It took some coaxing for my Mom to finally give in and try anything that I cooked using soy, but now, she doesn't mind it at all. These peppers are delicious, and the soy crumbles really are a great replacement for the ground beef. And did I mention, it's healthy? Someday, I'm going to sneak some soy crumbles into a dish for my Grandpa or Dad. If they can't detect that 'something different', no one will. I'll be sure and keep you posted on how that goes. :-)

Here's what you'll need for one serving:

1 large red bell pepper

1 plum tomato (preferably Roma), deseeded and chopped

1/2 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles, thawed
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup canned tomato sauce

2 tablespoons shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon dry taco seasoning mix

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a medium pan to medium-high heat on the stove. Add mushrooms, onion and green bell pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are slightly softened. Add garlic to the pan and cook for 1 additional minute.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. To the bowl, add tomato, soy crumbles, tomato sauce, cheese and taco seasoning mix. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Slice off the top of the red pepper, and then slice it in half lengthwise. Remove seeds.  Spray a medium baking dish lightly with nonstick spray. Place pepper halves in the dish, cut side up, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove pepper halves from the oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees.  Once pepper halves are cool enough to handle, use paper towels to soak up any excess moisture. Evenly spoon veggie mixture into pepper halves. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly then dig in!

Recipe adapted from Hungry Girl 200 Under 200.

Lemony Fresh

Mmmmm...Lemons!  They just scream summer, don't they?  I love pretty much anything with lemon in it so when I saw the recipe for Lemon Lemon Lemon Loaf that our friends at Like Mother Like Daughters posted, I had to give it a try.   So I ran to the store to grab a a few lemons to recreate this masterpiece, and lo and behold, came home with a 2-lb bag of the little yellow beauties.   While I would have been just as happy squeezing these into an ice cold glass of water, I decided to be a little more inspired so I made the ever so yummy English Lemon Shortbread Bars.  Wish you could have been here this morning.  Having zested and squeezed all of them, my home smelled like a lemon sanctuary.  I could get used to this.  Note to self...buy more lemons.

You've gotta try this one!  We LOVE Nancy, Ellen and Robin! 5..6..7..8..!  (They'll know what this means) :-)
'Lemon Lemon Lemon Loaf' from Like Mother Like Daughters

And now...the English Lemon Shortbread Strips.
These are now one of my new favorite desserts.  I'll be making these often!  They're soooo gooood!

Photo credit to Land O' Lakes
(We ate them all before I could get a picture...I'm not kidding)

Here what you'll need...

Shortbread Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Garnish Ingredients:
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all shortbread ingredients except flour in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press dough evenly into lightly greased 15x10x1 jelly-roll pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients in small bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Spread thin layer of glaze over cooled shortbread; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon lemon peel, if desired. Let stand 30 minutes to set. Cut into 2 1/2x1-inch strips.

Adapted from a Land O' Lakes recipe

The Green Glass Company

The Green Glass Company is one of my favorite new finds.  They reclaim/recycle bottles and transform them into amazing glassware.  Just one more way we can do our part for this beautiful Mother Earth. The glassware below is from the Mist Collection.