Accomplishment #8: Yummy Yummy Super-Soft Snickerdoodles

I love 'em.

Here's how to make 'em:

Snickerdoodles
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Imperial margarine (I never figured out how to bake with butter) . . . .
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (I like to use a combination of strong Mexican vanilla and regular 'ol grocery store vanilla)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cream the cup-and-a-half of sugar and margarine, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar, and mix well. (If you have a Bosch, the dough hook works well for this).

In a separate bowl, combine the half-cup sugar and cinnamon.

Shape the cookie dough into balls, and roll each ball in the cinnamon & sugar mixture. Place the dough on a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 375 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes (9 is perfect, if you ask me).

Yummy yummy super-soft snickerdoodles!

Accomplishment #3: Homemade Refried Beans

Truth be told, it's been a couple of years since I've been excited about cooking. But, last week, in a quest to cut my grocery bill, I pulled out the old crockpot, and used the pinto beans in my pantry. It was the first time I've ever made homemade refried beans, and I've got to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I'll be making them again -- my kids gobbled them up!


I've always been intimidated by the idea of cooking with dried beans (it seemed unnecessarily complicated), but it was really quite simple -- I just had to plan ahead.

If you decide to give homemade refried beans a try, here's the recipe:

5 cups water
2 cups pinto beans
1 + tablespoon dry minced onion
2 + cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt

Sort, rinse, and soak pinto beans overnight. (I usually start soaking around midnight, and change out the water once or twice in the morning, then start cooking the beans around noon or 1:00 PM). Drain beans. Mix 5 cups fresh water, beans, onion, and garlic in crockpot, and cook on high for 5 hours. Use a slotted spoon to reserve a cup or two of whole beans. Then, ladle out & reserve most of the excess liquid in a separate container. Mix beans in the crockpot with hand mixer, adding in reserved liquid as desired. Stir in salt and reserved whole beans. Now go and eat (preferably with a yummy homemade salsa and corn chips)!