Sugar Cookie Bars

These sugar cookie bars are a game changer!  They're baked in a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet so they feed a huge crowd!  They are so easy to make and don't require a lot of ingredients.  Plus they are so delicious- but anything with cream cheese I'll devour!

What you need:

cookies:

1 cup butter- softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

8 oz cream cheese- softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp baking powder

2 1/2 cup flour

frosting:

1/2 cup butter- softened

8 oz cream cheese softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cup powder sugar

- Preheat oven 350 degrees.

- Cream together butter, sugar, cream cheese, egg, vanilla, and almond extract.  Add baking powder and gradually add in flour.  Spread evenly into a greased jelly roll pan/cookie sheet.

- Bake for 20 minutes.

- For frosting- beat together butter and cream cheese then add vanilla and powder sugar (add food coloring if desired).

- Wait for cookies to cool then spread frosting on.

Summer Kabobs

It is grilling season people! Hamburgers are great and all, but there's more to summer than just grilling up hamburgers.  Shish Kabobs are my new favorite thing to cook!  It's so easy to throw together a marinade for any meat you want.  This chicken marinade is bomb.  It's got a chili lime taste that everyone will love.  The steak marinade was delicious and I'm already craving it and might have to make it again really soon.

Steak Marinade:

1 lb steak- cut into cubes

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup vinegar

1/8 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1 tsp ground ginger

some salt & pepper

- Mix all the ingredients except the steak together.  Put steak in a large ziploc bag and pour sauce over.  Shake really well covering all the pieces of steak.  Let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.  Add each piece of steak onto a bamboo skewer and grill for at least 10 minutes.

Chili Lime Chicken Marinade:

1 lb boneless chicken breast- cubed

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp red pepper chili flakes

3 Tbs fresh cilantro- chopped

2 Tbs olive oil

salt

- Add all ingredients except chicken.  Put chicken in a large ziploc bag and pour sauce over.  Shake it well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Put onto bamboo skewers and grill for at least 10 minutes.

**TIPS**

- If you pierce each piece of meat, the juices from the marinade will soak into it making it more flavorful.

- Soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for 30 minutes so that they won't burn on the grill.