White Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients: 
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chocolate chips *I actually used about 1 c. white and 3/4 c. bittersweet chocolate chips


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.


*Recipe adapted from Nestle Toll House White Chip Chocolate Cookies recipe

Brazilian Chicken

2 Tablespoons Margarine
2 Cloves minced garlic
1 Medium Onion Diced
2 Pounds Chicken Breast Cubed (Raw)
1 1/2 Teaspoon Chicken Bouillon
1 4oz Can Mushrooms
1 Pt. Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoon Ketchup
Black Pepper

Saute margarine, diced onions over medium heat until translucent, then add garlic. Add chicken bouillon and pepper. Mix, put lid on. Stir once in a while until chicken is cooked. Add mushrooms, cream and ketchup. Simmer low-medium 30 minutes. Always stir before serving. Serve over rice or pasta.

Delicious Whole Wheat with Oatmeal (or Bran) Muffins

Mix Dry Ingredients:
1 1/3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Oats or Wheat Bran
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt


Separately Mix Wet:
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Cup Applesauce
1/2 Cup Oil
1 Egg


Combine everything. Stir until everything is wet. 20-25 strokes--DON'T over stir. Bake 8-10 Min @ 350 degrees. You can mix the wheat bran with oats 50/50 you can also sub a banana for part of the applesauce.

Janice's Banana Bread

1 C margarine (I used butter)
2 C Sugar
4 eggs
2 C Bananas
1/2 C Milk
2 tsp lemon juice
4 C Flour
1 Tbl Baking Powder
1 tsp Soda
1/2 tsp Salt

Beat margarine and sugar then add eggs. Add Bananas, milk, and lemon
juice.  Add dry ingredients and mix.  Grease and flour pans. Bake at
350 for 50-60 minutes. Makes 2 full loaves. (I usually 1/2 the recipe,
because it is huge, and I get 4 of those mini loaves I showed you)
Enjoy!

Best Ever Baked Fries

I saw this recipe on America's Test Kitchen. It makes the best baked fries I have ever had. We make them all the time.

Ingredients:

Potatoes

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 475. Cut Potatoes into thin wedges. (I usually leave the skins on). Place potatoes into very hot tap water and let soak for 10 minutes. This helps change the starch in the potatoes. Liberally oil cookie sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste directly onto the cookie sheet. This helps keep the potatoes from sticking. After potatoes have soaked, drain and spread on cookie sheet in one even layer. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove tinfoil, flip and bake without the tinfoil for another 15-25 minutes. Enjoy. Goes great with mom's sloppy joes.

(Mostly) Whole-Wheat Bread

This is really Mom's recipe, but I tweaked it a little, and I've been really happy with the results.  No more dried-out, heavy-as-a-brick loaves of sandpaper!

THE INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c. milk
1 large egg
1/8 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 TBS. honey
1 1/2 TBS. melted butter
1 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. bread flour
3 TBS. wheat gluten


THE PREPARATION:
First, heat the milk 'til it is warm, even steaming.  Beat in the egg and the water, then dump it in the bread machine pan.  Add salt, honey and butter.  *Tip: I dip the measuring spoon in the melted butter before I measure the honey, that way you're not waiting a half hour for the honey to dribble off--it just slides right off the spoon.  


Dump in wheat flour, bread flour, and gluten, then hit the dough setting on the bread machine...or, obviously, you can just hit the correct bread setting.  I much prefer my bread without the hole in the middle, and in traditional bread shape, so I like to bake it in the oven.  SO, once you've got your dough...


THE BAKING:
...remove the dough from the bread machine pan, and pinch and pull it, or roll it to fit into a bread pan.  Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise a little.  I usually just heat up the oven and let the bread rise on top of the stove, so it goes pretty fast.  It's ready to bake when it's risen just above the top of the bread pan.  Pop it in the oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when you knock it.  Set it out to cool before slicing, unless you are ravenous.


THE ENJOYING:

Limericks

Megan, Lizzy and I composed some limericks while we were preparing dinner the other day... Enjoy!

Sandy

We once had a dog named Sandy
Who ate poopy diapers like candy;
She liked to eat crap,
Right down the old trap,
And thought that TP was just dandy!

Mom

We have a mother, called Mom
Who wanted to play Liebestraum;
So she sat right down at the piany,
And played until she was an old granny,
And all she could play was that song.