Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got the recipe here. I chose this one because the first comment cracked me up. She rated them 5 stars.

These Stink! August 17, 2009 By Angela.Emily
"I am so mad that these are delicious! They are unbelievably Amazingly Bad! I got so many complements on these. That is why I'm not rating these five stars."

Reminded me of my sister, whom I'll call DisGrace. haha.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
* 1/2 cup chunky or smooth peanut butter
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
* 1 egg
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy.

Blend the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together well. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°.

*****

Per some of the other comments, I used about 2/3 c peanut butter and added vanilla. I also used an ice cream scoop and made giant cookies. It made 16.

We give this 5 stars -- soft, rich, yummy ... I could only eat one giant one!

Chocolate Biscotti

Got the recipe out of the parade magazine in the paper.

Chocolate Biscotti
2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 c dried cranberries
3/4 c mini chocolate chips

Sift together dry ingredients. Beat butter and sugar together until very smooth, then beat in the eggs. Mix in dry ingredients until blended. Fold in cranberries and chips.

Divide dough; put pieces on opposite sides of a parchment lined baking sheet. Shape each into a 12-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick log. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes; cool 20 minutes.

Slice into 1/2 inch thick cookies. Stand them up on the baking sheet; bake for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Makes 48.

I'd give them 4 stars. Kiddo didn't like them but she doesn't like cranberries, but the husband liked them and they were good enough I gave some away. I haven't heard back yet from the recipients though.

Cranberry Swirl Muffins

This is a two-part recipe. My mom always made cranberry relish for Thanksgiving. It's a gorgeous ruby color and isn't cooked, so it tastes very fresh, of cranberries and oranges. But we always had some left because the recipe makes about 2 cups, and people usually only used 1-2 Tbs with their turkey. So, one year, I bought relish instead of making it because I was short on time, and there was a recipe for muffins right next to the relish. Ta-da!

I've had to modify the relish a bit because mom used to put the whole orange through her food grinder, and my little food processor can't handle that.

Mom's Cranberry Relish
1 package fresh cranberries, rinsed and sorted
1 navel orange
scant 3/4 c sugar

In your food processor or food chopper, grind the cranberries until small-ish (the size should look like pickle relish). Put cranberries in a bowl. Zest the orange, then juice it, right on top of the cranberries. Add the sugar and mix well. Refrigerate and let sit for several hours before the meal.

Cranberry Swirl Muffins
1/2 c cranberry relish
1/4 c shortening, butter, or margarine
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla*
3/4 c milk (I used almond milk)

Preheat oven to 400. Grease or line 12 muffin cups. Cream shortening and sugar; add egg. Beat until fairly smooth. Add dry ingredients, vanilla, and milk and stir until just mixed. Fold in relish and swirl. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes.

*I added the vanilla because I love it and it was the challenge ingredient. ha.

Five stars -- kiddo and baby loved them. The husband isn't home from work yet, but he'll eat them, too, and I'm taking a dozen to a family party later on. Yay!

Leftover Turkey Hash

I got the inspiration while watching Food Network. Guy Fieri made the most amazing looking/sounding turkey hash with leftovers, and I decided to give it a shot but change it up a little so my pregnant taste buds could handle it. Here is the original; I left out the jalapeno, used a milder onion and only a green pepper, and no salt or pepper. I also didn't make fried potatoes -- I served it over leftover dressing/stuffing and there was plenty of salt and pepper in that. And I made a lot less than his recipe because the kids are being stinkers and I knew I didn't want a ton of leftover hash.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced (you can dice and freeze the other half to use later)
1 to 2 c diced, cooked turkey breast
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 limes, sliced
leftover dressing or stuffing

In medium skillet over medium heat, saute onion and green pepper until desired doneness (I like mine sort of caramelized). Add turkey and heat through, use more or less turkey depending on your tastes. Reheat dressing or stuffing and place individual portions in the center of individual plates. Divide turkey hash evenly over top, then add tomatoes. Juice the limes over each plate and enjoy!

*This probably would serve 3-4 normal grownups, but my husband is a big eater, so he got quite a bit of it, and I couldn't finish my plate because I'm still in the icky phase of pregnancy. It was delish; I'm just limited to how much of anything I can eat. Five stars.

Mary Ellen's toss it together soup with rolls

Toss it Together Soup

2 cups cubed ham
1 can of tomatoes (undrained)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of green beans (undrained)
1 can of kidney beans (undrained)
2 cubed potatoes
1 c water
1 bay leaf
oregano
garlic
dash of chili powder

Put it all in the crock pot and simmer for four hours on high in the slow cooker. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

*notes: I didn't have ham, so I used ground beef. I added 3 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled, and 1 c blackeyed peas leftover from our lunch. I also forgot the potatoes because I had a lot going on today, but it was still delish, though my toddler probably would have eaten more had I remembered the potatoes. He only ate the broth. Served them with rolls.


Dinner Rolls

This makes a very dense roll or bun. I found it originally when looking for a hamburger bun recipe. It is delicious, but if you like a lighter bread or need something lighter for your purposes, let it raise once before forming into rolls, then raise again. Two rises will give it a lighter texture.

2 c milk (I used soy milk)
1/4 c margarine
1/4 c water
1/4 c white sugar
2 Tbs yeast
2 tsp salt
6 c flour

In medium saucepan, combine first 4 ingredients over low heat. When about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, turn off heat, add yeast, mix, and set aside for about 5 minutes to proof (get foamy).

In large bowl, combine salt and flour. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add to flour and mix thoroughly, kneading for about 5 minutes. Divide into 24 equal pieces (flatter if you want hamburger buns, ball shaped if you want rolls), place into greased pans, cover, and let rise for about 20 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Brush the top with melted margarine when out of the oven.

Happy New Year!

I apparently have had a second trimester energy boost, because I've been cooking up a storm today ... and the rest of this week. I'll post recipes later. It's nice to be able to cook again without getting sick to my stomach. Hate the first trimester!

After a late night and cereal for breakfast, then an early nap, I started off today with cooking lunch: The short ribs my mom always makes for New Year's Day, plus black-eyed peas. If you don't eat black-eyed peas on New Year's, you're missing out: It is considered good luck to eat them on New Year's Day! While the short ribs and beans were cooking, I started a soup in the crock pot for dinner, using my friend's "toss it together" recipe, thinking we were going to be gone half the day. Our plans changed, but the soup was already going. So I made rolls to go with, plus pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and bread so we could freeze the muffins and kiddo can have some quick breakfasts when school starts again next week. She'll be able to choose from peach cobbler muffins (which I made a few weeks ago), blitz kuchen muffins (made on Christmas), and these, which are her favorites.

I also plan to start freezing meals so, after this baby is born, I won't have to cook for a while. It's going to be an interesting year, to say the least!

I'll be coming up with menus on Monday for next week, and hopefully will be able to bake muffins at least once a week to keep the freezer stocked. We go through them fairly quickly, though I'm now out of pumpkin and Libby's has a shortage due to the massive amounts of rain fall in the midwest last harvest, so I'll be experimenting with different kinds. Sad day on the pumpkin front, but it means more delicious muffins for us!

So, I'm a slacker ...

Being pregnant has taken its toll on whether I'm cooking or not. Not, mostly.

I did this recipe after Thanksgiving. http://whatsinyouroven.blogspot.com/2009/11/leftover-turkey-hash-la-guy-fieri.html

This one, too. http://whatsinyouroven.blogspot.com/2009/11/cranberry-swirl-muffins.html

This one before Thanksgiving and may soon again. http://whatsinyouroven.blogspot.com/2009/11/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

As far as my original recipes go, I haven't really created anything fresh lately (aside from my take on the turkey hash). I need to get back to planning menus though because then maybe the husband or the kidlet could cook. Hmph.

I am sooooo nauseated right now. And I was supposed to make tomorrow night's dinner tonight (spaghetti pie) so we could eat quickly after church and head to temple square. um, yeah ... hopefully I can get that done after work. which has sucked tonight because I'm still not feeling well from a stomach virus, so I should be done with work but I don't think I even have half my requirements done. Bah.