Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate. How can your go wrong with this combination? These cookies are delicious and super soft if you cook them for the right amount of time. It is really important with this recipe to not over-bake them!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cream together (Blend at high speed for 4 minutes)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. shortening
1 c. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
Add the following, and blend in, the go to high speed for 1 minute
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Mix the following ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. Then add to creamed mixture:
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Blend in slowly. Then mix for about 1 minute.
Add:
1 ½ to 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mix until dough comes cleanly off the sides (should be less than 1 minute). Spoon into rounds onto a baking pan. Smash lightly with a fork. Cook at 350 degrees for 12 minutes (bottom of cookies should not brown). Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Another Chili Recipe

This one is our family favorite for Chili.

Chili

2 lbs. ground beef

1 large onion

6 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. cumin

2 cans tomatoes (diced)

5 bay leaves

1 tsp. ground red pepper

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

46 oz. tomato juice

6 dashes Tabasco sauce

6 dashes Worcestershire sauce

3 cans kidney beans

Brown ground beef with onion. You can also use 1 lb ground beef and add an extra can of kidney beans. Combine all ingredients and simmer. (We normally put this in the crock-pot all day)

Soft Pretzels

Soft Pretzels

1 ¼ c. warm water

2 T. dry yeast

½ tsp. sugar

3 – 3 ½ c. flour

2 T. water

Egg yolk

Pretzel salt

Dissolve warm water, yeast and sugar. Mix in flour. Knead for 8 minutes. Let rise in a greased bowl until double in size (45 min). Punch down and shape. Brush on egg yolk with 2 T. water. Sprinkle on salt. Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise until double (20-30 min). Bake at 475° for 10 minutes.

Poppy Seed Green Salad

Poppy Seed Green Salad

Iceberg, Romaine, and Red Leaf lettuce, torn in pieces

½ cucumber, sliced

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained (or sliced strawberries)

2 avocados, chopped

¾ C sliced almonds

Red onion rings (optional)

Crisp Chinese noodles

Poppy Seed Dressing

¾ C sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 C salad oil

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1 tsp. dry mustard

Dash of onion juice

½ C white vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients until sugar is dissolved, then refrigerate until serving time. Shake well before adding to greens, right before serving.

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken & Dumplings

In a large soup pot, boil a whole chicken for 1 hour. (While chicken is cooking, prepare dumplings. Combine dough and roll out VERY thin. Cut into 1 inch squares. Allow to dry slightly.) Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, strain liquid and return to pot, skimming fat if you need to. (Remove chicken from bones and reserve to add during last 5 minutes of cooking time.) Add chicken bouillon to taste (5-6 cubes). Add one onion, chopped, and about 1 lb. of carrots, chopped (3/4 c.). Boil until vegetables are soft. 45 minutes to 1 hour before serving, add dumplings a few at a time. Cook covered for 45 minutes, adding chicken for last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Dumplings:
3 eggs
1/3 c. milk
3 T. butter
¼ tsp. salt
3 c. flour

Cooking Hiatus

As my very few loyal followers most likely know by now, we have bought a house. We are moving within a month, so I am going to be taking a break from this blog. I will be back once we're in our new house. Continue to use the great recipes on this site, and check back in mid-June. Happy cooking everyone!

Enchiladas Verdes

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, who is from Mexico.  These enchiladas are SO good! 

Enchiladas Verdes


1 lb tomatillo tomatoes
5 to 7 serrano peppers (Remove seeds after cooking if you don't want it too spicy)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cube of chicken boullion
1 whole chicken
3 roma tomatoes
1 ½ medium-sized white onion
15 corn tortillas
Sour cream
¼ lb of panela cheese

For the sauce
Start boiling the tomatillos, the peppers, ¼ of the onion and the clove of garlic. Once the tomatillos have taken a yellowish color, they are done.  Drain ingredients and add to blender (remove seeds from the peppers if you don't want it too spicy). Blend everything together until completely pureed.
Put a little oil in a pan, only to season the sauce(about 1 tbsp.). Add the content of the blender and bring it to a boil for approximately 2 minutes.

For the chicken
Boil the chicken in a large stock pot with 1/4 of an onion, garlic, and chicken boullion.  Cook until done, about an hour.  Shred the chicken.  Chop the rest of the tomato and the rest of the onion into little squares. Place them in a pan over medium heat until the onion turns out to be transparent and the tomato has extracted all its juice. Then, add the shredded chicken and simmer.

When the sauce and the chicken is ready to serve, submerge the tortillas in the sauce (first, fry them in oil quickly to prevent tearing). Put chicken inside the tortillas and wrap or fold the tortillas neatly on a plate and put chicken on top. Add cream and cheese as desired.

I was given this award:

Saraplicious gave me this award, because I shared a recipe collection with her.  So what are the requirements for this award?

a) I must brag about it.
b) Display the badge on my blog and link to the one who tagged me to prove that I didn't tag myself (how pathetic that would be!)
c) I share 10 things about myself.
d) pass the award to other fellow bloggers by visiting their site.

I am not going to tag anyone specifically, but I will tag all of my faithful readers (all 3 of you). Have fun with this!


Ok, 10 things I want to share about myself...(I am theming this around the kitchen and my family, since that is where (and with who) I spend a lot of my time, and it's the theme of this blog!)

1. I am a stay at home mom to three great kids.
2. Call me old fashioned, but I love being able to have a wonderful meal ready on the table when my husband walks in the door after a long day of work.
3. I am a brand snob.  I really think that the no-name brands of food actually taste different.
4. I am cooking something new all the time.  I love trying new recipes.
5. I don't like baking nearly as much as I enjoy cooking.  Baking is too precise, and you can't experiment quite as much with it.
6. I have almost every appliance known to man. 
7. I have a HUGE kitchen and lots of cupboards, but they are all over-flowing.
8. I have quite the "staples stash" in my pantry.  You will find a lot of the basic staples in there at any given time.  I don't let myself run out.
9. My kitchen is almost never 100% clean - I am using way too much!
10. I am a military wife

Pasta with Herb Cream Sauce

This recipe I adapted from foodnetwork.com.  Their recipe is a lot more fattening (surprisingly enough!), but this still tastes so good!  Even my kids devoured it.

Penne Pasta
4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp. Fresh rosemary
1 C heavy cream
1 C milk
1/2 C parmesan cheese (or italian cheese blend)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp. Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Stir in flour with a whisk and let cook for 1-2 minutes to create roux. While stirring constantly, slowly add in milk and cream. Cook until thickened. Add remaining ingredients. Serve over cooked pasta.  Serves 4.

Butternut squash soup

This is such a tasty soup.  I think it has become my new favorite.  For the bread bowls recipe, see this link. 

Butternut squash soup
6 cups (about 2 large squash) seeded 2-inch wide chunks butternut squash
Melted butter, for brushing
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon minced ginger
4 ounces heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 6 cups frozen shredded hash browns
• 1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cond. cream chicken soup
• 1/2 soup can milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup grated onion (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup corn flake crumbs

Cook fresh potatoes or thaw frozen potatoes.  Place potatoes in a 2-3 quart casserole dish or a 9x13 casserole dish.

Combine soup, milk, sour cream, cheese, and onion and salt and pepper to taste. If a saucier dish is desired, add 2-3 tablespoons additional milk. Mix well. Spread sauce over potatoes.

Melt butter and combine with corn flake crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs over casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly throughout.