Stephanie's Slice Of Life

- Sausage Wontons Appetizer
  
  Posted at 9:47 am by StephMo
  
  Dec 27th
  
  I have been making these sinfully delicious appetizers for over 20 years and always on Christmas Eve. Even though this year it was only my little immediate family, one of the first menu items requested were these wontons. You might look at the ingredients and think “eh”, but trust me they are delicious. It is hard to distinguish any of the ingredients in this wonton, but they all work together and create an amazing flavor. My children don’t like black olives or red peppers, but they love these.
  
  The nice thing about this recipe is you can make the sausage filling ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to make them. You can also freeze the mixture if you’d like, which is nice when you aren’t using all of it because they do make quite a few.
  
  I first got the recipe from a friend years ago and she doubled the amount of cheese and dressing. I thought it was a little too much so I cut the measurements back a little, but if you want you can add more cheese and more dressing.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 package of Jimmy Dean or Jones sausage
  
  1 red bell pepper
  
  1 small 2.25 oz. can of black olives
  
  6 – 8oz. of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
  
  4 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  
  4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
  
  Wonton wrappers
  
  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.
  
  Cook the sausage in a frying pan until done, and let cool. Cut the red pepper into chunks.
  
  In a food processor or chopper combine the sausage, red pepper, and olives. I didn’t have my food processor with me so I used a small chopper and chopped them in small batches of all three ingredients together. A food processor would have been much quicker.
  
  Once you have processed all of the sausage, pepper and olives, combine in a mixing bowl with the cheeses and dressing.
  
  Place one wonton wrapper in each opening and bake for about 5 -7 minutes until they get slightly brown.
  
  Once brown, fill each wonton with the sausage filling using two teaspoons.
  
  Bake for about 10 minutes until the cheeses are melted. Keep watching them to make sure the wontons don’t get too brown or burned.
  
  Now be prepared for your family and friends to ask you to make them again. So good!
  
  Posted in Appetizers, Recipes, Sausage Wontons | Tagged appetizer recipes, easy appetizers, food blog, food blogger, sausage wonton recipe, sausage wontons, stephanie's slice of life, wonton appetizer, wonton recipe, wontons
- Shortbread Jam Sandwich Cookies
  
  Posted at 10:03 am by StephMo
  
  Dec 19th
  
  Let me just start by saying that these cookies are one of the best cookies I have ever had. Unbelievably good. So good that when my daughter and I tasted the first batch we both looked at each other while chewing and said maybe we should just eat them all and not give them out. We were joking, kind of, maybe not actually. We had restraint, however, and only ate a few while saving the rest to give out to family and friends.
  
  The nice thing about this recipe is they don’t have to be made as sandwich cookies. You can just bake the shortbread in any shape you would like and either eat them plain, or dip part of them in chocolate. Whichever way you decide to make them they will just melt in your mouth.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 sticks of butter, softened
  
  1 cup sugar
  
  1 tsp. vanilla
  
  3 1/2 cups flour
  
  1/4 tsp. salt
  
  Raspberry jam or preserves
  
  Confectioner’s sugar
  
  In a large mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined.
  
  Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
  
  Sift together the flour and salt in a small bowl and gradually add to the butter mixture while beating on low speed until combined.
  
  Now this is where the recipe gets a little tricky. As you can see, it doesn’t look very combined or together for that matter. However, it is right and how it should be.
  
  Start squeezing together handfuls of the dough and put them on a lightly floured board. The dough will come together with time but you need to work at it with your hands.
  
  As you can see after a few minutes and a little patience the shortbread dough came together and looks great.
  
  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  
  Using a section of the dough at a time, roll out on a lightly floured board until about 1/4″ thick and cut into shapes.
  
  If you are making the sandwich cookies, you can either use all solid shapes or you can cut a shape in the center of the cookie for the jam to show. Place the cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for around 8 minutes for the cookies with holes, and around 10 minutes for the solid cookies. Keep an eye on them and they are done when they are slightly brown.
  
  While the photo shows the two cookies together on the cookie sheet, don’t bake them together as they really do have different cooking times.
  
  Let cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or so and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
  Once cool spread jam on the flat side of the bottom cookie. Spread lightly on the edges and leave more in the center for where the hole will be.
  
  Sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on the top cookie then place on top of the jam covered bottom cookie.
  
  Now the most important thing is trying to stop yourself from eating them all. Trust me, it isn’t easy.
  
  Posted in Cookies, Holiday Treats, Recipes, Shortbread Jam Sandwich Cookie | Tagged butter cookies, food blog, food blogger, raspberry jam shortbread, shortbreaad jam sandwich cookie, shortbread cookie recipe, shortbread cookies, shortbread jam cookie, shortbread sandwich cookie, stephanie's slice of life
- Gingerbread Cookies
  
  Posted at 9:14 am by StephMo
  
  Dec 19th
  
  This recipe for Gingerbread cookies is delicious, not overpowering with spices and a really nice soft texture. When I was a child my mother would use raisins as the buttons, does anyone else remember using raisins? I wanted to use some but my raisin hating daughter vetoed that idea before I could even get the entire thought out of my mouth. I don’t know what it is with my children and raisins. So if you like raisins, they can be a cute old school thing to use for buttons!
  
  My tip with making these cookies is to make them fairly thick. My first batch wasn’t as thick as they should have been and they were a little crispier than I like cookies to be, I prefer a nice soft cookie. I think the perfect size is somewhere around 1/4″ thick, maybe a little more.
  
  You can be as creative as you’d like with decorating. I used a simple icing recipe to decorate them, but if you don’t feel like making icing you can just buy some at the store. The icing I made was 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with 2 tsp. of milk, then add 2 tsp. of corn syrup and 1/4 tsp. of clear vanilla.
  
  Cookie Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  2 tsp. ginger
  
  1 tsp. cinnamon
  
  1 tsp. baking soda
  
  1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  
  1/4 tsp. salt
  
  3/4 cup butter, softened
  
  3/4 cup brown sugar
  
  1/2 cup molasses
  
  1 egg
  
  1 tsp. vanilla
  
  Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  
  In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
  
  Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
  
  Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed until combined.
  
  Press the dough together and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least four hours.
  
  On a floured board roll out about half the dough and start cutting out your gingerbread men. Re-flour the board and roll out the remaining scraps of dough and continue cutting out cookies.
  
  Place the cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes or until they are just starting to brown.
  
  Remove from the cookie sheets and let cool on a wire rack.
  
  Have some fun and decorate! Make sure to eat the ones that aren’t “perfect”.
  
  Posted in Cookies, Recipes | Tagged cookie recipe, cookies, food blog, food blogger, gingerbread, gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cookies recipe, gingerbread men, holiday baking, holiday cookies, stephanie's slice of life
- Chicken Pot Pie
  
  Posted at 7:14 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 14th
  
  Pot pie is such a classic comfort food isn’t it? I’ve made it a few different ways over the years and this is the way I have made it the most, and most recently. This pie is actually a turkey pot pie with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving that I had in the freezer. Normally I would cook chicken breast for this, but since I had the turkey why not make it into a pot pie.
  
  Let me just come clean right now and say that I cheated and used a pre-made pie crust for this pot pie. And I don’t feel bad even though my family always teases me when I use pre-made crust. As I have mentioned before, pie crust is not my favorite thing to make and after a busy day I just prefer to use something already made. Still tastes delicious!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  Pie crust
  
  2 tbsp. butter
  
  1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
  
  2-3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey
  
  3 cups chicken broth
  
  1/3 cup flour
  
  1/4 cup half and half
  
  Salt
  
  Pepper
  
  Dried thyme
  
  Onion powder
  
  Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the peas and carrots and cook for about 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.
  
  Add the chicken and cook for another minute.
  
  Add the flour and stir well, then cook for another minute.
  
  Add the chicken broth and bring to a low boil for about 3 minutes until it starts to thicken.
  
  Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, and thyme to taste. I don’t measure it out, I just shake some in the pot.
  
  Add the half and half and continue cooking at a low boil until it thickens.
  
  Remove from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes before pouring into a pie dish.
  
  Top with your pie crust, homemade or store bought.
  
  If you would like, brush the crust with an egg wash. To make an egg wash mix a beaten egg with 1-2 tbsp. of water and brush over the crust. Use a knife and put a few slits in the crust as well to let the steam escape.
  
  Bake at 375 degrees on a foil lined cookie sheet for around 30 minutes or until the crust is brown and the pie is bubbly.
  
  Serve and enjoy!
  
  Posted in Chicken Pot Pie, Dinners, Recipes | Tagged chicken pot pie, chicken pot pie recipe, food blog, food blogger, leftover turkey recipes, stephanies slice of life, turkey pot pie, turkey pot pie recipe
- Scones
  
  Posted at 3:59 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 14th
  
  I just made some homemade blueberry jam the other day, and what better to have with jam than homemade scones. This recipe is nice because it is easy to make, delicious, and a good base recipe if you want to add other ingredients. I plan on making another batch this week and adding chocolate chips. You could add fruit, nuts, chocolate, or whatever your heart desires. These scones are moist and have a nice slightly sweet taste.
  
  The key to making scones and biscuits is to use cold butter and to grate the butter with a cheese grater. Butter is quite slippery and will get warm from the heat of your hands, so keep it in the wrapper as best you can.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  5 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  3/4 cup cold butter
  
  1 egg, beaten
  
  1 cup milk or half and half
  
  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Grate the butter and cut it into the dry mixture with a pasty cutter or a fork and knife. I finally got a new pastry cutter! Woohoo! For those of you that read my blogs know that I have been without one for quite some time.
  
  Put the beaten egg in a measuring cup and then fill to the 1 cup mark with the milk or half and half. I used a combination of half and half and milk. Mix the two together and add a little at a time to the dry mixture. You shouldn’t have to use all of it.
  
  The dough shouldn’t be too moist, just add enough so that the dough will stick together once kneaded. It won’t look like it will in the bowl, but you can tell by using your hands and squeezing some together.
  
  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until it comes together. Roll the dough into a circle about a 1/2″ thick.
  
  Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 8 pieces, this made very large scones. If you would like them smaller divide the dough in half, then roll it out and cut into 8 pieces.
  
  Place the scones on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until brown.
  
  Then enjoy plain or with some jam! Yum!
  
  Posted in Breads, Recipes, Scones, Uncategorized | Tagged food blog, food blogger, scone recipe, scones and jam, scones recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Broccoli Christmas Tree
  
  Posted at 2:24 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 9th
  
  Oh Broccoli Christmas tree, oh Broccoli Christmas tree, la la la la, la la la. I have been making this adorable vegetable tree on Christmas Eve for years. Since this year will be a little different and I probably won’t be making it, I decided to make it today! Why not, right?
  
  You can serve this with any dip you prefer or even dressing. While my husband would most likely be content chomping on these vegetables without any dip, most of us really only eat the vegetables so we can eat the dip. I sometimes serve it with a simple vegetable or ranch dip, or sometimes with a blue cheese dip (recipe below). Today I decided I was in the mood for blue cheese dip. When am I not in the mood for blue cheese honestly.
  
  For this little healthy holiday appetizer you only need four ingredients : broccoli, cauliflower, a yellow pepper, and cherry tomatoes. Simple, simple.
  
  Cut off the stems on the broccoli and the cauliflower. Save a little piece of the broccoli stalk to use as a stem for the tree.
  
  Start assembling the snow (cauliflower) on a large platter, and then start building the tree.
  
  Pop a few tomatoes on as ornaments. Use a star shaped cookie cutter with the yellow pepper to make the star. You can put more stars on the tree or on the platter, whatever you like.
  
  And that is it! So simple and so impressive right?
  
  Now for the best part, the recipe for the Blue Cheese Dip.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup crumbled blue cheese
  
  1/4 cup mayonnaise
  
  1/2 cup sour cream
  
  1 tbsp. milk
  
  1 tbsp. lemon juice
  
  dash of pepper to taste
  
  dash of garlic powder to taste
  
  1 tbsp. sliced scallions.
  
  Mix all of the ingredients together and chill. This dip will taste better once it has been chilled for a few hours.
  
  Serve alongside your pretty tree! Yum!
  
  Posted in Appetizers, Broccoli Christmas Tree, Holiday Treats, Recipes | Tagged appetizer, appetizer recipe, blue cheese dip, blue cheese dip recipe, broccoli christmas tree, broccoli tree, food blog, food blogger, holiday appetizer ideas, holiday appetizer recipe, holiday appetizers, stephanie's slice of life, vegetable tray and dip, vegetable tree
- Bacon Wrapped Scallops in a Dijon Maple Cream Sauce
  
  Posted at 5:39 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 6th
  
  These were a Christmas Eve staple for many years until I became allergic to them. Such a bummer because they are absolutely delicious! The sauce is especially amazing. Scallops wrapped in bacon by itself are so good, but add the sauce and oh my! Super easy to make and so impressive. Trust me, you and your guests will love them!
  
  I wanted to share this recipe so I made them as a little treat for my family even though I couldn’t have any. Pretty sure they keep me around just for the food, and these scallops were gone in minutes. I wish these had looked a little nicer than they ended up looking, but the bacon just wasn’t cooperating. My son said “Mom, it doesn’t matter how they look, it matters how they taste and they taste so good”. So there’s that!
  
  To make this scrumptious appetizer you need:
  
  20 large sea scallops
  
  10 slices of bacon
  
  1 cup heavy cream
  
  2 tbsp. dijon mustard
  
  2 tbsp. maple syrup
  
  Cook the bacon on a baking sheet at 375 degrees until brown but not crispy. You don’t want the bacon too crispy so that it doesn’t break when you wrap them.
  
  While the bacon is cooking give the scallops a rinse and trim off the muscle. If you have never cleaned a scallop, it is the rough flap on the side of each one. These were very large and I cut some of them in half.
  
  When the bacon is cooked drain on a paper towel and let cool slightly.
  
  Wrap each scallop with half a slice of bacon and use a toothpick to hold it together. Place them on an un-greased cookie sheet.
  
  Bake at 400 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes. I went right in the middle at 9 minutes and they were perfectly cooked.
  
  When you put the scallops in the oven, start the sauce. Bring the cream to a boil and continue boiling for about 3-4 minutes. Add the dijon mustard and the maple syrup and continue boiling for another 3-4 minutes.
  
  Pour the sauce on a dish and top with the scallops. Yum, yum.
  
  Posted in Appetizers, Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Recipes | Tagged appetizer, appetizer recipe, bacon wrapped scallops, dijon maple cream sauce, food blog, food blogger, scallop recipe, scallops, scallops wrapped in bacon, stephanie's slice of life
- Mexican Street Corn
  
  Posted at 7:32 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 1st
  
  Mexican Street Corn is traditionally made with corn on the cob. If you have ever been to Mexico you may have seen street vendors selling it from a cart. This easy recipe is a spin off using frozen corn and it makes a perfect side dish with tacos, or anything.
  
  Tonight we had pork tacos for Taco Tuesday and this was so delicious not only as a side, but actually in the tacos. I love when I make tacos for dinner on a Tuesday without realizing it, it makes me feel like I am much more together than I really am. So whether your taco dinner happens to fall on a Tuesday or not, give this dish a try as I’m sure you will love it.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  4 cups frozen corn
  
  2 tbsp. butter
  
  1/4 cup mayonaise
  
  1/4 cup sour cream
  
  1 tsp. cumin
  
  1/2 tsp. chili powder
  
  Lime
  
  1/4 cup cojita cheese
  
  Scallions
  
  Mix together the mayo, sour cream, cumin, chili powder, and the juice of a lime in a bowl. Set aside.
  
  Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
  
  Add the frozen corn and cook until it is heated through while stirring frequently.
  
  Turn off the heat and stir in the mayo mixture. Add the cojita cheese and stir until melted.
  
  Serve with extra cheese if you prefer and topped with sliced scallions. Yum, yum!
  
  Posted in Mexican Street Corn, Recipes, Side Dishes | Tagged corn, corn recipe, easy side dishes, food blog, food blogger, mexican street corn, mexican street corn recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Pumpkin Pie
  
  Posted at 6:43 pm by StephMo
  
  Nov 25th
  
  Pumpkin pie is definitely one of my favorite pies. That or squash pie, yum. I have been making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. It’s a Thanksgiving staple in our family. I have tried many different recipes and this recipe is the one I have been making for the last number of years and I think it is delicious. Pumpkin pie is so easy to make too, unless of course you use fresh pumpkin which I do not.
  
  Since pumpkin pie is not topped with crust, you may want to add some decorative pieces like I do. I usually just put a few shapes in the middle of the pie but this year my daughter asked if we could make it fun, and fun it was!
  
  So the first thing you need is crust. Here is the link to the pie crust that I use.
  
  https://stephaniessliceoflife.com/2020/11/25/vodka-pie-crust/
  
  The other ingredients are:
  
  1 15oz. can of pumpkin
  
  1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
  
  2 eggs
  
  1 tsp. cinnamon
  
  1/2 tsp. ginger
  
  1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  Whisk together all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
  
  Pour into the pie crust and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
  
  Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 – 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.
  
  If you want to add decorative pieces of crust, let the pie cook for about 15 – 20 minutes or until it starts to set and then add the decorations. That way they won’t sink into the pie.
  
  Posted in Pies, Pumpkin Pie, Recipes | Tagged food blog, food blogger, pie recipe, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie recipe, stephanie's slice of life, thanksgiving pies
- Vodka Pie Crust
  
  Posted at 1:48 pm by StephMo
  
  Nov 25th
  
  This recipe for pie crust is so delicious! It makes such a nice flaky buttery crust, and yes it contains vodka. Vodka in the dough helps make the crust flaky. I learned this tip years ago from a friend and she was right.
  
  I doubled the recipe today that is why it looks like so much flour, etc. Let me tell you, it was quite the arm workout. Yikes. The best part of making this dough was the look on my son’s face as I went to get the vodka at noon. I assured him that although it must be 5 o’clock somewhere, I was not drinking at lunchtime.
  
  Make sure the butter, shortening, vodka, and water are cold. The dough will not turn out the same if they are not.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  2 1/2 cups flour
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  3/4 cup cold butter
  
  1/2 cup chilled shortening
  
  1/4 cup chilled vodka
  
  1/4 cup cold water
  
  Whisk the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl.
  
  Cut the butter into cubes and cut into the flour mixture with either a pastry cutter or a fork and knife until it looks crumbly.
  
  Cut the shortening into cubes and cut into the mixture until crumbly.
  
  Add the vodka little bits at a time, you don’t want to pour it in all at once. Stir after each addition.
  
  Then do the same with the cold water. The dough will not be together but it should easily come together with your hands. You can either do this in the bowl or on a cutting board.
  
  Divide the dough in half (I had to divide it into four because I doubled the recipe) and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out for your pie.
  
  Posted in Pies, Recipes, Vodka Pie Crust | Tagged food blog, food blogger, pie crust, pie crust recipe, pie recipe, stephanie's slice of life, vodka pie crust, vodka pie crust recipe
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