Chocolate Chip Cookies

We have experimented with Chocolate chip cookies for years. This is one of our favorite recipes.

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup salted butter, softened ( can use margarine, but butter is better)

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 tsp espresso powder

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts( optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, add flour, salt and baking soda, mix together and set aside. 

In a large mixer bowl add butter and beat with an electric mixer until butter is smooth. Add sugars beating until mixed well. Add vanilla, espresso, and eggs one at a time continue beating until combined. Add flour mixture about 1/3 at at time just until combined. 

Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Scoop dough( use a small ice cream scoop if you have one) into rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased or lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. 

Let cookies cool about a minute on cookies sheet and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Homemade Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

2-4 drops of vegetable oil

1/2 cup peanut butter

About a cup of powdered sugar. ( the amounts are estimated, I didn't actually measure anything)

Candy Molds.

Spay molds with oil.

Melt chocolate in a zip lock sandwich baggie.  Fill the baggie with about a cup of chips, drizzle a cpl of drops of oil, to keep them from being tooth breaking hard! Put the bag in a wide flat bowl, do not seal bag.   Microwave 20 seconds at a time until melted.  I like to knead the bag in between nukes.  Helps the chocolate become smooth, without lumps.  When its melted, seal bag and snip off one corner. Use like a pastry bag and fill bottom half of candy molds. Shake the molds gently to distribute evenly.  Put in freezer until set.

Take peanut butter and add the powder sugar. Beat until well mixed. The more sugar u add, the thicker it gets. seems easier to handle when its thick.

press in some peanut mixture on the chocolate.......... be sure not to go all the way to the edge so the next layer of chocolate can cover the peanut butter. Place in fridge.

Nuke more chocolate. Use a new sandwich bag if needed.   Take chocolate peanut butter molds out of the fridge and pipe in another layer of chocolate. Shake molds gently to distribute.  Return to freezer until chocolate sets.

  YUM!

Smokey Maple Glazed Pork Chops

 I stumbled across a different version of this recipe a couple of days ago, and decided to make my own version.  These tasty sweet and smokey chops were the results. So good my 6 year old grand daughter ate seconds, and my picky son cleaned his plate.  The roasted pecans are a must for this, they made the dish special.



Dry  Rub:
2 tsp sugar
one tablespoon dried parsley
2-3 tsp  sea salt
2 tbs  paprika
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper

Mix well in a bowl and set aside until needed.

Sauce:
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup butter maple syrup( Mrs Butterworth works well)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp of liquid smoke
Pecans, toasted and chopped, optional garnish

6  pork chops, about 1-inch thick( center cuts work best, but any cut will still taste good)
2 tablespoons olive oil

I am kinda OCD and dont eat red meat often...........so I rinse the meat and towel dry with a paper towel.

Rub the pork chops with the dry rub and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to help tenderize

Sauce Instructions: 
put the vinegar in a small pot bring to a boil, reduce to half. Add the the rest of the sauce ingredients and continue on low boil until reduced again, by half

Heat oil in heavy deep fry pan( i use cast iron) Cook the pork chops on medium high heat,  until very brown on both sides.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook until done desirableness. about 8-15  minutes depending on thickness of your pork chops.  Arrange on a serving platter and  sprinkle toasted pecans over chops, then pour sauce over pork chops, and serve.

 
Roasted Pecans: Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil and put a single layer of pecans on it, roast under the broiler about 6-8 minutes.





Variation. Grill Chops and brush with the sauce.

Amazing Banana Ice Cream.

A friend told me the other day how she makes banana ice cream.  I thought she was nuts, but it came out amazing!  U have to try this.


6 Bananas.  Peeled, cut into pieces then frozen until firm, but not solid

2 tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla

Place  all ingredients in a food processor like so:

 blend until smooth and creamy.

Seriously that's all there is to it. 

Easy Cheesecake

 This is your basic and easy cheesecake recipe. We made one last night and it came out nicely.



Filling:

2 packages of 8 ounce cream cheese at room temp.
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Crust:
1 and half cups of graham cracker crumbs.  I buy graham crackers and put in my food processor and process until crumbs.
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of white sugar.
 one pie pan or a spring form pan. I used a pie pan this time. I wanted a thick cheesecake.

Preheat oven to 350.


Melt the butter.  Add the sugar to the crumbs. Add to the melted butter. Press on the bottom and sides of your pan. 

Using an egg  beater, mix the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Beat until well mixed

Pour over crust and bake.  If using a pie pan bake for about an hour and 15 minutes. If using a  spring form bake for about 55 minutes.  Let cool completely before cutting into it, otherwise you'll have cheesecake pudding. Let cool for about 15 minutes on the counter, then in the freezer for about 15 minutes.   If u want to eat it soon.

Pizza Muffins

These were created out of boredom and hunger.  We just had make your own calzones a few nights ago.  We had pizza makings as leftovers, and a tube of biscuits. These were the results.

Tube of big home-style biscuits
Pizza Sauce
Pizza ingredients for example.mini pepperonis, olives, mushrooms, peppers onions...ect..
Grated cheese.

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a muffin tin generously with vegetable oil.  Take each buscuit and stretch it a little then set in the muffin pan, making a well.

Add your pizza sauce and ingredients, topping with cheese

Push the stuff inside to get it in there well.  Close up with your fingers.

Bake about 8-12 minutes. Until brown. YUM!!

Chicken Chimichangas

This is my own original recipe. As I have said before, I am not a chef or a professional.....most my recipes r right out of head, like this one.  I have made this about 300 times in my life, so this recipe is second nature.   Its one of my most requested meals. 


4 Boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
one package of taco seasoning
1/2 of mild salsa
Burrito sized tortillas    Note* Can use whole wheat or any of the new flavored ones.  Remember though turn the heat down some and keep a close eye on these when frying, they tend to burn faster, than plain flour.
jalapenos( optional)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
olive oil
2 cups warm water
vegetable oil

 Add seasoning to the water....mix well.  Heat a fry pan with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add onion and pepper.  Add chicken breasts, brown on each side.  Add the seasoned water about 1/2 cup of salsa, turn heat down and simmer until chicken is done,(adding some water as needed, to keep it from burning) about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool. Using a 2 forks, shred chicken. (add jalapenos at this point if using............can also add to individual chimichangs, when rolling them)  Warm Tortillas up in a plastic bag in the microwave.  Makes them soft and pliable, easier to roll.  put about 3-4 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of the tortilla. fold bottom over the chicken, then each side, and roll up tucking the sides in as you go. Flatten them gently with your hands. You want them flat and rectangular shaped.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a deep fry pan, until very hot, not smoking. Smoking oil is too hot and will burn food without cooking it. Also can catch fire at this point.

Fry each chimichanga on the fold side first, to keep them closed.  Fry until very golden brown on each side.  I serve over a bed of shredded lettuce and garnish with tomatoes and chopped onion and serve with sour cream,  my guacamole and my Salsa Fresco.  Recipe links:

Recipe link for my creamy gaucamole

Recipe link to my Salsa Fresco

Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast.

6-8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg
teaspoon Vanilla
one Tbs of sugar
6-12 pieces of french bread
8 ounces of cream cheese( room temp)
1/4 cup of honey
mixed berries( frozen works fine) about a cup
two teaspoons of sugar
whipped Cream
syrup


Put berries in a glass bowl, add 2 tsp of sugar, gently toss. set aside.  Using an egg  beater,beat the honey and cream cheese until well mixed.  Spread a piece of french bread with some of the cream cheese( about 2 tsp) mix. put another piece on top. Repeat until u have as many as you are going to eat.  I recommend one set per person. They are filling.


Whisk the eggs with the one tablespoon of sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and milk. Whisk until nice and frothy.

Heat a non stick fry pan up with real butter on med high. once melted reduce heat to medium.

Dip the french bread into the mix and put into the hot butter.  work quickly. You don't want the bread all soggy. Brown on each side and serve with layers as follows: Syrup, whipped cream then a spoonful of berries! enjoy!!

Cutting Up a Whole Chicken From Allrecipes.com

Cutting Up a Whole Chicken

I have been asked to show how to cut up a whole chicken, so I did some research and found this on Allrecipes.com.  It seems easy and straight forward.
Perhaps the most important reason to learn how to cut up a whole chicken is that it will save you money. Buying a whole chicken is cheaper than buying pieces, and the leftover parts( backs, wing tips, skin, popes tail) are ideal for forming the backbone of soup stocks. The same method can be used for cutting up other fowl like duck.

1. Place the chicken breastbone-side up on a clean, flat cutting surface.

2. Use a standard, sharp kitchen knife to slice off the wing joints. The wings can be set aside and reserved for stock. One breast and leg is removed at a time. Follow steps 3 through 9 to remove the breasts and legs.

3. Make a shallow incision running along one side of the breastplate.

4. Deepen the incision by slicing into the chicken toward the rib cage. Pull the meat away from the rib cage as you slice down. As you progress further into the bird, slide the knife off of the rib cage repeatedly to ensure that you are removing any meat attached to the rib cage.

5. Your knife will come to a point, just underneath the wishbone, where the wing joint meets the rib cage. The wing joint cartilage is soft enough to slice through easily. Slice completely through the joint, stopping only when your knife reaches the cutting surface. At this point, the breast is almost completely off the bird.

6. Slice through the skin that runs from the tail end of the bird to the point where the leg meets the breast.

7. The breast should come off of the bird with little effort. Pull the breast outwards, away from the bird, being careful not to rip or tear the flesh. You might need to slice through some still-attached skin to remove the breast.

8. Cut through the leg joint until you reach the point where the leg bone meets the body. This joint can be difficult to cut through, so stop cutting when you reach bone. Don't try to cut through the leg bone.

9. Grasp the leg and pull it behind the bird, pressing your fingers into the back of the joint until the joint pops loose. You will feel the bone pop out of the socket. Remove the leg by cutting in and around the joint. Keep cutting until you have freed the leg from the body. Now, turn the bird around and remove the other breast and leg the same way, following steps 3 through 9.

10. The carcass, along with the wings, can be used for making soup stock. (See our Making Chicken Stock article for tips.)