Sunday, February 28, 2010

Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies



These cookies are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. I'm kind of picky about my chocolate chip cookies and recipes I've used in the past always seemed to fall short somewhere. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and made them exactly as they were written. The first batch of cookies came out enormous! Like the size of the cookies you'd buy in the mall. Almost too big, so the second batch to go in the oven I made smaller. Those were also big cookies but not so big you'd have to break them in half to eat them!

Now, I decided to make these because a friend of mine invited my daughter and I over to her house for dinner. Both of our husbands were traveling and so we ate dinner together and let the kids play. I wanted to bring a dessert that the kids would like that we would also enjoy. So, thinking like a 2-5 year old I came up with Ice Cream Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches!!



Yum!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. (These are the enormous cookies, use a spoonful to make normal sized cookies)



Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.



I cooked mine for about 18-19 minutes so they were brown on the outside. That amount of time was perfect to eat the cookie on it's own. The one's that I made the ice cream sandwiches with I think I should have cooked them a little less so they would have been softer. Just keep that in mind if you use this recipe for ice cream sandwiches!



Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Buttermilk Corn Bread



I've only ever made corn bread from a mix - usually Jiffy. I wanted to try making homemade this time and my, oh my, is this delicious! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and I didn't change any of the ingredients. The only thing I changed is that I mixed mine in a mixing bowl instead of the pan. I think it's perfect just the way it is!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square pan. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. (I transfered the butter to a mixing bowl at this point) Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain.



Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine was ready to come out of the oven after about 35 minutes.

I didn't get a picture of them out on a plate - we had company over and we were too busy eating! ;) You'll just have to trust me on this one. These are way better than any box cornbread!! This will certainly be my staple cornbread recipe from now on!



Enjoy!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Chocolate Marble Gooey Butter Cake



I found this recipe in my Cake Mix Doctor cookbook. It's similar to the Gooey Butter Cake that I made last summer but I actually like this one much better. It has chocolate on the top which adds a nice flavor and gives it a nicer color than the original recipe. My advice would be to make this recipe when you are taking it to a party or to feed a lot of people. This cake/bar is so good you could seriously eat the whole pan! I had to put what was left in the freezer so I didn't just eat all of it!

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 package (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg

Filling:
1 package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted
3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cake mix, melted butter & egg in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low until combined. Pat the batter evenly over the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan, smoothing it out with your fingers until the top is smooth. Set pan aside.



Place the cream cheese in the same mixing bowl (no need to clean) and beat with same beaters on low speed until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and melted butter and beat for about 1 minute. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on medium speed until the sugar is well incorporated.



Place chocolate chips in small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring until chips are melted. Measure out 1 cup of the cream cheese filling and fold it into the chocolate mixture, stirring so the batter becomes one color. Set aside.



Pour the remaining filling onto the crust and spread with a rubber spatula so the filling covers the entire surface.



Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter over the top of the filling.



Then swirl them with a knife so the top of the batter has a marbled effect. Be careful not to cut through the crust.



Bake the cake until it is well browned but the center still jiggles when you shake the pan, 45-47 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cook, 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Mine got left in the oven longer than it was supposed to because I was outside playing in the snow and forgot about it! Mine is going to be browner than yours but honestly, it still tasted great. It definitely got pretty brown but was still soft and chewy.



So yummy! Saryn had a few pieces and every time she would take a bite she would say, "Mmmmm, that's delicious!"



Enjoy!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

White Bean and Apple Chili



I received 5 new cookbooks for Christmas this year. I've been going through them and tagging recipes that I'd like to try at some point. I found this recipe in Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O'dea. She is also a blogger and I had checked her food blog out a few times before I got her cookbook. She used nothing but her crock pot for cooking for a whole year! She's got some interesting recipes, that's for sure! You can check out her blog by clicking here.

This is a completely different twist on chili. But we really liked it so definitely give it a try!

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons butter
2 (15 oz) cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion chopped
2 green apples, cut in tiny chunks (no need to peel)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup plan nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Put the butter in your crock pot along with the beans, onion & apple. Add garlic chili powder, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour in broth & the yogurt.



Combine ingredients together.



Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. The chili is done when the onion has softened and the flavors have melded.

My new crockpot cooks hotter than what I was expecting so mine got a little overcooked. Still tasted great but yours might not look like mine when it's done.



Stir in cheddar cheese before serving. I just sprinkled the cheddar cheese on top of the chili once I placed it in the bowls.

We liked this chili but it is very light. I'd recommend serving some sort of bread with it along with a salad. Definitely a different kind of chili but in a good way!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Two Sauce Lasagna



My friend Seanean sent me this recipe a few years ago. It's really easy and nice & light for a lasagna. I like that it has Alfredo sauce as the top layer and tomato sauce throughout the rest. The recipe calls for it to be made in a 9x13 baking dish but I put it into 2 8x8 pans. One I baked that day and the other I wrapped in foil and placed in the freezer for another time. Perfect if you have a small family and don't want tons of left over lasagna laying around!

Ingredients:
1 (16oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (16oz) jar Alfredo sauce
16 oz (or 2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
3 eggs
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 box lasagna, cooked/drained (I used the no cook lasagna noodles)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 pound sausage, browned (I used Italian sausage)

Directions:
Combine ricotta, mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan & eggs.



My measurements are going to be for 2 8x8 pans so if you are using 9x13 just double it.

Spread 1/2 cup red sauce in each baking pan.



Layer pasta



1/4 of the cheese mixture





1/4 of the spinach



1/4 of the red sauce (I forgot that step/picture so I just put the sauce on top of the sausage!) and 1/4 of the sausage



Top with another layer of pasta.



Repeat with remaining ingredients. Top with pasta and spread Alfredo sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.



Now, the recipe calls for it to bake covered in aluminum foil in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Mine was not warm in the center after 15 minutes. I ended up cooking it for about 40 minutes. I would check yours at 15 minutes to see if it's done but expect for it to take 30-45 minutes. I also removed the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.



Let stand for 10 minutes after you take it out.



Serve with salad and garlic bread.



Enjoy!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Creamy Potatoes Au Gratin



Jordan LOVES potatoes au gratin. I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com and thought I'd give it a try. I used my mandolin slicer for the first time and I think it really made a difference - especially with the cooking time and even cooking. If you don't have a mandolin just try to cut the potatoes close to the same size as possible. We thought this was a great recipe but very basic so feel free to use this as your base and add as you see fit. The only thing I thought it needed was a little more salt but I'm pregnant and think everything needs more salt!! :)

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, sliced into rings (I chopped mine)
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 1 quart casserole dish. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes and stir gently to combine. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.



Enjoy!