Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

It's starting to get cold outside, and food that sticks to your insides are starting to look more appealing. Paula Deen's Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole was just what I needed to warm me up before going out for Halloween! (Just a few alterations)

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package wild rice
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoons butter
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (10 3/4-ounce can) condensed cream of potato soup
1/4 cup freshly grated Pepper Jack Cheese
Salt and pepper


Directions
1. Cook the rice. 1/4 wild rice, 3/4 basmati rice with 2 1/4 cups water for 45 minutes.
2. Cook the onions, peppers, and shrimp together with a teaspoon of butter.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
4. In a large bowl, combine the rice, soup, 1/4 cup of cheese,shrimp and vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well.
5. Spray a 9-inch square aluminum cake pan or an 11 by 7-inch glasscasserole dish with vegetable spray. Place the mixture in the pan and top with extra cheese, if desired. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Paula Deen's Sugar Cookies

There were no cookies in the apartment, so darn, I had to make some. I went back to Paula Deen to supply me with these sweet sugar cookies. The combination of Almond and Vanilla is DELICIOUS! Instead of making cut-outs I just rolled the dough into balls and flattened them with a fork, like you do with peanut butter cookies. Only you press it once instead of twice, or else they flatten too much and burn the edges. 10 minoutes in the oven makes perfectly soft cookies, 14 minutes makes crispier ones. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Granulated sugar
Royal Icing, recipe follows

Directions

In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then mix in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tarter; mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, then cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide the chilled dough in half and roll it out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to a 1/4-inch thickness. Lightly grease some baking sheets. Cut the dough with a floured cookie cutter; sprinkle with sugar. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets and bake for 9 minutes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/monogrammed-sugar-cookies-recipe/index.html

These Coconut Macaroons Set Off the Fire Alarms

I am trying a new thing where the only cookies and sweets I eat are the ones I make myself. This gives me an excuse to try all the super unhealthy cookie recipes by Paula Deen. The other day I made her coconut macaroons. They went really well except that they kept making all this steam and setting off the smoke alarm every time I opened the oven door. Only later, when I told my mom that the macaroons stuck to the wax paper, did I find out that the steam was the wax paper burning of the wax. Oops! Hope I didn't inhale wax or something. Next time, I will be sure to use parchment paper.

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded coconut
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut, almond extract, and salt. Mix in condensed milk to form a thick paste. Fold in egg whites with cream of tarter. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.