i'm of the no nuts in mexican wedding cakes camp. i tried to eat them with nuts a few times and it's just not the same.

calalove they really are so super easy. the most laborious part is rolling them into balls.

i try to make them every christmas. this year i'll be making them with other cookies such as peanut butter, chocolate chip, and cinnamon sugar. for the PB and the cinnamon sugar, i'm going to try these gluten free recipes that really just mean flourless. i like my cookies less cake like and more chewy so hopefully it works out.

tell me how that works out, cherrynebs, because me/us and gluten aren't on the same social network.

i think i may have mentioned this recipe before but it's a favorite of mine so i probably mention it a lot.

no noodles lasagna.

sauce:
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
several garlic cloves, chopped (i love garlic so i use half a head)
granulated sugar to taste (usually about 3-4 tbsp, sometimes more)
tsp or two of olive oil
salt to taste (i usually do kind of a lot of salt - about a tbsp, maybe more)
1-2 tbsp dried italian seasoning but if you have fresh basil and oregano, probably better
1 bell pepper
about a cup or two of chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
1 crate cremini mushrooms or white if you can't find cremini, sliced

for layers:
either - red or orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced into flat strips
or - sliced zucchini
or - sliced eggplant
(i hear you should roast your sliced eggplant or zucchini if you choose either of those because then it draws out the moisture - when i did it with fresh eggplant slices it ended up way too watery)
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2-4 oz shredded italian cheese blend or mozzarella

crumble and brown ground beef with the diced onion and olive oil. add tomatoes, paste, seasonings and sugar, garlic, and vegetables. bring to a boil and let boil for a few minutes (keep stirring so it won't burn on the bottom), lower the heat and simmer for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.

layer in a 9x13 baking dish starting with the sauce mixture, then layer with whichever layering veg you choose, then layer another of sauce, then sprinkles some strategically placed dollops of the cream cheese, then a little bit of the shredded cheese then repeat the rest of the layers until done. i reserve most of the shredded cheese for the top.

bake in a 375-400 degree oven until cheese is browning a bit and you can tell that the sauce inside is not watery (usually about 45 minutes-1 hour). if your oven gets really hot you might want to tent the top with foil until the last 20 minutes or so, so that your cheese doesn't burn.

quiche.

1 frozen pie crust unless you like making your own (i buy the marie callendar's deep dish frozen crust)
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups whole milk (if you're feeling really indulgent you can use 1/2 milk and 1/2 heavy cream)
chopped green onion
2 slices lean ham lunch meat, chopped
about 4 slices of center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
3-4 oz shredded gruyere cheese
salt to taste
pepper to taste
about 1/4 tsp nutmeg (this should not be omitted, it really is key to making it taste ridiculously good)
pinch of cayenne or chili powder if you want it a smidgen ****y

bake empty pie crust in oven for about 15 minutes, poking a few holes in the bottom with a fork so it doesn't bubble up. i think the oven temp is 350-400? this way you don't end up with raw crust underneath the egg mixture (tastes better when you do this step - i think it's called par-baking).

whisk together all of the ingredients. pour in slightly baked crust. place on a baking pan with low sides or else you will get egg mixture all over the bottom of your oven. bake in 425 preheated oven for 15 minutes then lower oven temp to 350 and bake about 45 more minutes or until egg mixture is set and not runny (pierce it with a knife to see if it's still too runny or not). you may need to carefully place some foil around the edge of the pie crust in the last 15 minutes or so, so it doesn't burn.

this quiche happens to taste best when the quiche has been brought out of the oven and let cool almost to room temp. i don't know why.

this please!

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