Cookies and Cream Sammies

{It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe, but I’m back! And now, I’ve folded Laurie’s Food Files into my main blog, Scene of the Grime, hence the new blog header. You can still access my recipes by going to http://lauriesfoodfiles.blogspot.com or you can go to http://sceneofthegrime.blogspot.com and click on the FOOD FILES button. Either way, I love to have you come visit me in my creative kitchen!}

Want a quick and easy idea for a fun family dessert? How about this:

What you need:

Ice cream (any flavor)

Cookies (homemade or store-bought soft cookies)

What you do:

1-Set your ice cream out for a few minutes and let it soften.

2-Scoop a small amount of ice cream out and place it on a cookie turned upside down.

3-Now place another cookie (right side up) on top and gently press down.

4-Wrap cookie in wax paper. Put all wrapped cookies in a freezer bag and store in freezer.

5-After dinner, take out your sammies and serve with a smile!

This recipe will be saved in my Food Files for your convenience. {This post may be linked to blog parties on my linkies page.}

Hugs and Yums, Laurie

Shades of Summer Cookies

Hi! I was making some dippy cookies the other day and I came up with a new twist! In the Wintertime, I’m planning to call them Cocoa & Cream Cookies, but since we’re in the midst of summer heat right now, I’m calling them Shades of Summer Cookies – as in the shades of no tan to a little tan to a dark and luscious tan! Heehee!
Vanilla or chocolate? You don’t have to choose with these delicious dessert cookies! I’ve taken storebought oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies (of course you could make your own!) and dipped one side in meltable vanilla candy coating and the other in chocolate candy coating - yummalectable!!
Now, you could also use food coloring to turn your vanilla coating different colors and dip them that way as well, to coordinate with an event, party decor, etc. There’s no limit to the possibilities! Have fun!
{This post may be linked to blog parties in my sidebar.}
Hugs & Yums, Laurie

Beach Buffet Boogie

Each year, we go on vacation to the beach with my extended family. We stay in a house on the beach and enjoy lots of good times and good food! In my attempt to relax some while we’re there, I like to cook ahead!

It’s that time of year again, vacay time, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite make-to-take recipes with you (a couple recipes I’ve shared before, but I’ll link to them here – links have red/maroon text).
►BAKED SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE – So easy to build an “Italian Night” around!
►BLONDE CHICKEN PARMESAN – A light basic dish that can be dressed up quickly with a couple sides (like my spicy green beans) and hot buttered rolls.
►CHILI DE LAURIE – Good to have on hand for the first night there when all are tired from travelling and for quick soup and sandwich lunches.
I’ve combined ingredients and directions here – you just throw all these items into a large stockpot and simmer, simmer, simmer..til you’re ready to eat! I serve this chili with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and scallions. Here you go:
1-2 lbs. lean ground meat (browned & drained), 1 onion + 1 green pepper + garlic (diced and sauteed til browning), 1 large jar salsa, 2-3 cans diced tomatoes, 4 small cans tomato sauce, 1 large can light red kidney beans (drained), 1 can chili beans, chili powder + cumin (sprinkled in to taste) – feel free to adjust ingredient amounts per your preference
►CREAM CHEESE DANISH CASSEROLE – Soooo yummy with hot coffee or tea in the sunny morning.
►FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE – Absolutely sinful for breakfast or dessert and a big hit with kids. You can also provide various toppings such as fruit, powdered sugar, syrup, preserves, even chocolate sauce and whipped cream!
Ingredients: French bread (I have also used hoagies rolls before) to make 5 cups bread chunks/cubes, 4 eggs, 1-1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla flavoring, 1 Tbsp butter, 1 tsp cinnamon/sugar
Directions: Butter a 9x13 casserole dish/pan. Put about half of bread chunks/cubes on bottom of dish. Mix eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla together. Pour about half of egg mixture over bread in dish. Sprinkle 1/2 of cinnamon/sugar over this layer. Use the rest of the bread to make another layer in dish. Pour remainder of egg misture over top bread layer. Sprinkle rest of cinnamon/sugar all over the top layer of bread. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until top layer of bread it starting to brown around the edges.
►ASSORTED SWEET GOODIES – Oh, c’mon, you know these will be scarfed.
I’ll take a large Tupperware box full of cookies, brownies, etc to include:

Peanut Butter Crunch                Dippy Cookies                   And More!

Hope you can use some of these ideas, they are def tried-and-true and never fail to be gobbled up quickly! Happy travelling this season! Be safe and eat well!
Hugs & Yums, Laurie

SWIRLY SUGAR COOKIES

My daughter and I came up with a way to “fancify” store-bought sugar cookie dough –> SWIRLS!

We put a couple drops of food coloring on a paper plate, lightly dabbed a small ball of dough in it, then gently kneaded the dough JUST A LITTLE until the color was swirled through the dough.  You must stop kneading before the color completely mixes into the dough if you want the swirl effect.

I think they turned out really pretty and much more impressive than plain cookies.  We did four different color combinations.

Pink swirl/purple sugar sprinkles; purple swirl/green sugar; green swirl/pink sugar; and yellow swirl/green sugar.  They looked very festive and Easter-y! 

I love dressing up a simple bought food item!  Easy + Impressive = Baking/Cooking Fun for Me!

Hugs & Yums,

DIPPY COOKIES, HIPPY HOORAY!

This is a "recipe" I came up with a few months ago that is EASY, CUSTOMIZABLE (to event/time of year) and YUMMY!  Even though it's soooo simple, people are always delighted and impressed by these cookies!  Today we made some Dippy Cookies for my 2nd grade son's class St. Patrick's Day treat:

So!  You take (your choice of) COOKIES (baked or bought), (white or chocolate) ALMOND BARK (you can also tint another color) and (your choice of) SPRINKLES/COLORED SUGAR/TOPPING; customize them to what you like and what holiday/event you're celebrating.  See...easy and delicious!  Here's one last tip that makes life easier:

Save the plastic cookie tray (if you bought your cookies) and use it to store the cookies for transport.  You can cut and rearrange the trays however you need, than display them once you get to your event.  Enjoy!!

These are also easy to make ahead and freeze!  Linking to:  Tasty Tuesday,  Foodie Friday and Freezer Foods Friday .

Hugs & Yums,