The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Prepared by Chef Tom

www.cookwithtom.com

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 oz bag milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. (tip from Caren: you will need extra flour, if not, flat cookies. So I add about 1/2 cup or until the dough thickens up quite a bit and so it is not so sticky/runny like.) Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough (abt and hour or two- if not, flat cookies), then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. (tip from Caren: make'em big! abt golf ball size and then shape them into hockey pucks- that is what the creater suggested. makes a big thick cookie:) ) Bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

For an added zing, top each cookie with a few crystals of either fleur de sel, or coarse sea salt.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

I found this recipe online but made a few changes for taste and texture. I made it with Vance's preschool class this week and served them warm with honey butter. They loved it!!!! Super fast and super easy.

1 c all purpose flour
1 c yellow corn meal
1/2 to 2/3 c sugar (depending on how sweet you like it!)
1 tsp salt
2 t baking powder
1 egg
1 c milk
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 Tbls melted butter
Optional: 2/3 c corn or creamed corn and/or 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan or line muffin pan with 12 muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk, vegetable oil and butter until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes for 9 inch round cake pan, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Bake abt 16 minutes for muffins.

Pomegranate, Apple and Banana Salad

Serves 4
Each serving equals 1 cup of fruit or vegetables

2 pomegranates, chilled
4-6 apples of your choice, sliced and cubed
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 bananas sliced
2 limes (or 1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice)

Mix together the juice of the lime and the apples. Score and seed both pomegranates, freeing the seeds. Mix all ingredients together to evenly coat with yogurt. Chill until served.

***Kitchen Tip: How to Remove the Seeds from a Pomegranate: Cut off the pomegranate’s crown, then divide into sections. Place the sections in a bowl of water. Gently roll out the arils with your fingers. Discard everything else. Drain the water, and the seeds are ready to use. (from the Kraft website)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

You know those pumpkin choco-chip cookies you make from a spice cake mix? Well, I hate those things. I was so glad to get a good home-made recipe. These cookies are amazing!

1 c vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp mapleine
1 tsp salt
1 large can (29 oz) pureed pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
5 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 pkg MINI chocolate chips

Preheat oven 375 degrees.
Cream oil, sugar, vanilla, mapleine, and salt.
Add eggs and pumpkin.
Beat well until mixture is fluffy.
Mix in spices.
Add flour, baking soda, baking powder.
Blend until incorporated.
Add chocolate chips.
Dough will be a cake like consistency.
Spoon onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.

Bake on 375 for 13-15 minutes.
Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

This recipe make approx. 100 cookies. (I halved it and had plenty!) They freeze well.

Options: Add currents, raisins, craisins, chopped nuts, or white chocolate chips in place of chocolate chips. Try icing with a butter cream frosting and topping with chopped nuts.
(Recipe from Suzanne Price)

The end result????????

Harvest Pumpkin Bars

Bars
2 c all-purpose flour
2 c sugar
1 Tbps pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can solid pack pumpkin
3/4 c vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
Frosting
3 oz cream cheese, softened
6 Tbps butter, softened
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
Stir in pumpkin, oil and eggs.
Spread in a greased 10x15 inch baking pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Frosting- Combine cream cheese, butter, milk, vanilla, and confectioners sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
Beat on medium high speed until smooth, scraping the bowl constantly until of spreading consistency.
Spread over the baked layer.
Chill, covered, until serving time.
Cut into 48 bars.

A Pampered Chef recipe.

Food Storage Analyzer

Emergency Essentials has a great tool to help us see how much food storage we have accumulated! (or not accumulated in my case~) It's free and pretty darn useful! You just punch in how many people you need to feed and how much of each item listed you have in storage and... wah-lah! I have enough food to feed my family for almost 59 days!!! Okay, it's not much but I'm working on it.

At first I was thinking this analyzer was just geared toward EE items but I was glad to find they had a place to analyze canned foods and also a spot where you can add your own items.

Another neat feature is they have a recipe link right next to some of the items so you can see how you can use it. This also helped me see what else I needed to purchase in order to actually make something with what I have in the first place.

Overall~ Super easy to use!

Negatives... well, I still think EE is too pricey for most of their items so the ordering feature means nothing to me. Wonder if they have coupons.... Kim, let me know:)

Sweet... now I can a $10 gift card for reviewing the analyzer!!!!

Crispy Panko Mustard Chicken

I have wanting to try cooking with Panko bread crumbs for awhile now and yesterday I finally did it. This recipe was so yummy! The panko gives an incredible texture. Plus, this is so easy! This would go great with potatoes but since we were out we ate ours with corn and veggies.

FYI: "Do you know panko? It's a Japanese style of bread crumbs used to coat fried food. The crumbs are large and very flaky. It's made from yeast-raised bread dough that is baked in a special oven so it does not form a crust. The crumbs start out very pale colored but cook up golden brown. You can find it in the Asian section of just about any supermarket."
I purchased mine for about $2 at Macey's.

Crispy Panko Mustard Chicken
serves 2

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Creole Mustard (You can use any type of mustard- I used honey mustard-so good!)
1/4 cup panko
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Melt the butter in a small dish in a microwave oven then combine the butter with the panko crumbs in a small mixing bowl.

Coat chicken breasts with mustard then place on a greased, foil-lined baking sheet, top with crumbs ("The trick to this technique is to mix the panko crumbs with just a little bit of melted butter then put it on top of the mustard coated chicken by hand instead of dipping the chicken in the crumbs.") and bake approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.

Recipe and photo found and all quotes taken from Cooking with Amy food blog: read it and eat it.

Cranberry Chicken

We love this recipe! It's so good and extremely EASY to prepare. Also, you can change it up by using different types of dressing or cranberries. I will display the original recipe below and then show how I make it.

1 Lg. bottle of French or Catalina dressing
2 cans whole cranberries in sauce
2 pkgs Dry onion soup mix
5-6 chicken breasts or 10-12 breast tenderloins

Mix first 3 ingredients to make sauce. Arrange chicken in 9X13 pan (or you can cut chicken breast into bite size pieces and add to sauce). Pour sauce over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or cook in a crock pot.

* My version- I half the recipe since there are only 3 of us. But this does make great leftovers!

1/2 bottle Honey French or Creamy French dressing.
1 can of jellied cranberry sauce (so good and adds a sweetness to the sauce)
1 pkg Dry onion soup mix
3-4 chicken breasts

I cook this in a crock pot so my oven doesn't need to be on for and hour and a half- I don't need any more heat-up in this top floor condo! I cook it for about 3-4 hours and the chicken is wonderfully tender. WE SERVE OURS OVER RICE~ DIVINE!!!!!!

Recipe from Trina Morrison

Banana, Zuccinni, or Pumpkin Bread

3 eggs
1 c butter
2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 c mashed bananas or shredded zucchini or pumpkin
*if making zucchini or pumpkin bread add 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice
3 c flour (I used 2 c regular flour and 1 c whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Optional: Chocolate chips!

Preheat oven to 325. Beat eggs, butter and sugar. Add vanilla and bananas (or whatever you are using). Add rest of ingredients. Bake in greased (and floured if desired) bread pans until golden brown and thoroughly cooked (mine took about 45-50 minutes).

Makes 2 loaves.

bread/pizza

I love this recipe it never fails and tastes great! Soy lecithin is the "secret" ingredient...it stores indefinitely and would be great for your food storage item. When I make it I half it (my mixer only can hold 6 Cups of flour...bummer) but for dinner I'll make pizza with half the dough and the other half I'll make cinnamon rolls. The recipe is as follows:

10 1/2 c bread flour (I use wheat sometimes)
1/2 c sugar
1 T salt
3 T SAF instant yeast (it is important to use saf so you don't have to let it cure, you just throw it in with the other ingredients)
3 T liquid lecithin (do not measure it's too sticky eyeball 4 quarter size globs)
4 c water

Mix dry ingredients and yeast add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 min. and check consistency. If dough is too dry add more water. Dough should be very sticky. Mix for 5 min. on high. Do NOT add anymore flour after! Spray counter and pan with Pam. Shape loves and cover with a dish towel. Let raise for 25 min.
bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. for bread loaves but 12-15 min for rolls or cinnamon rolls.
pizza bake @ 400 degrees for 12 min. do not let raise.