Week 24 -- Honey Butter

This is so simple and such a hit not only at our home, but everywhere I take it.

1 cup butter
1 cup creamed honey
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well in your mixer. Spread on bread, toast, cornbread, waffles and more.

Week -- 23 Yummy Salad Dressing

Dressing:
1/2 cup oil (I use olive)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. onion salt
mix it up and serve or refrigerate ( make sure to mix it up before you serve it, sometimes the sugar will settle to the bottom.)

This dressing was served with a salad with craisens, blue cheese, and mushrooms and it was delicious!

Week 22 - Apple Almond Pudding Cake with Nutmeg Sauce and Whipped Cream

The picture does not do this dessert justice.

From the New Canaan Ward Cookbook --

Pudding Cake:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped almonds (if desired)
4 cups grated apples (peel skins and grate or chop)

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs and combine well; set aside. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, salt and flour; add butter mixture. Fold in apples. Bake in 9x13 inch pan for 1 hour. To serve, crumble pudding cake and top with warm nutmeg sauce.

Nutmeg Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Stir sugar, butter and cream over low heat until butter melts and sauce is hot. Add vanilla and nutmeg.

Top it all with fresh whipped cream.

A delicious dessert for the fall!

Week 21 -- Cauliflower soup

I made this soup after getting the idea from pioneerwomancooks.com (here is her recipe).  Because I am not the best "recipe follower"  I will give you the version I actually made. 

I used a food processor and chopped up all of the following.
almost 1 whole yellow onion
the top half of one celery bunch
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
about 15 baby carrots
2 heads of cauliflower

Dump all of the chopped up stuff in a large sauce pan and add 3 cans of chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer for about 25 minutes (or until everything is tender). 

In a separate sauce pan, make a white sauce
4 TBS of butter (melt in the pan)
6 TBS of flour (whisk into the butter)
Add 2 cups of skim milk and 1 1/2 cups of light cream

Whisk until thickened and then pour into the other sauce pan. 

At this point I tasted it and added 2 Tbs of chicken base and 2 tsp of chicken boullion and some salt and pepper. 

It was delicious.  Even most of the kids liked it.

Week 20 -- French Dip Sandwiches with au Jus

These make everyone in my family happy!


And they are easy. EASY, Easy, easy.

In a crockpot, put in whatever beef you may have in your freezer. I often use round steak, but I have used skirt steaks, flank steaks, rump roasts, you name it. Sometimes I use a crazy combination of those -- like when I have 1 small flank steak and 1 small skirt steak which would not be enough for one meal by themselves, I just throw them in the crock pot. Add 3 cups of water, 3 tsp of beef base (or beef boullion cubes) and add 3 tbs of soy sauce.

Let it cook all day.

Take out the meat and chop / shred it. Strain the broth in the crock pot for your au jus. Serve on a toasted roll.

Sometimes I add cheese, sometimes I sautee mushrooms and add those too. But most of the time it is just bread and meat and dip. (and of course some healthy fruits and veggies on the side!)

Week 19 - BYU Mint Brownies -- kind of

 

I had to take a dessert to an activity and had printed a recipe for BYU mint brownies a while ago -- however the prep time, cook time combo was 90 minutes -- and I did not have 90 minutes -- I had 45 and then I had to run out the door to soccer, then I would have only 5 minutes before leaving for the event. So I mixed and matched favorite recipes to create my own mint brownies.

They were AMAZING. I don't think I have ever gotten more compliments about something I have made as I did with these.

First, make the brownies. This is a very yummy, very easy chocolate brownies recipe. Once I discovered this recipe (in the Katy Third Ward cookbook -- calleed Cindy's Brownies and submitted by Wendy Peterson) I have never bought a brownie mix.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Melt butter. Add 2 cups sugar, beat well. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour, cocoa, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add chocolate chips if you want. (Sometimes I put them straight into the batter, sometimes I sprinkle them on top). Spray a 9x13 pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

While the brownies are cooking, you must make 2 frostings. The first one is the green mint frosting (and this is the exact recipe from the "official" BYU mint brownie recipe). The second is for the chocolate frosting (and this one is from a family cookbook -- as the "official" BYU mint brownie recipe ends with the line "Then frost with chocolate frosting" and doesn't even include a recipe.

The Mint Frosting

5 Tbs margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbs milk
1 Tbs light corn syrup
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp mint extract
2-4 drops of green food coloring

Soften the margarine, Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.


The Chocolate Frosting

4 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla

Beat with mixer, beat at medium speed. Let cool.


Once the brownies come out of the oven, let them cool a little -- put on the mint frosting and spread. Put pan into the freezer. The mint frosting must be frozen firm to be able to spread the chocolate frosting on top -- so you have to leave the pan in the freezer for at least an hour or so and then do the chocolate frosting. Cut and Serve. Sit back and graciously recieve the compliments!

Week 18 - Maple Granola

This recipe is from my Aunt Tami. My mom made it and I LOVED it. I am not a big breakfast person or cereal eater, but I love this in a bowl with milk. It is also good with icecream and yogurt and berries!

I have made one change to the original recipe -- which is adding Rice Crispies -- it makes the granola just a tad lighter in texture and feel.

12 cups rolled oats (I used quick rolled oats) -- this is exactly the amount in a #10 can)
8 cups of chopped nuts (in this case I did 2 2/3 cup chopped walnuts, 2 2/3 cup chopped pecans, and 2 2/3 cup slivered almonds)
4 cups Rice Krispies (I used a generic brand of puffed rice cereal)

Mix all of these in a very large bowl.

In a small bowl combine the following

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups maple syrup (I don't use the REAL maple syrup, just maple flavored breakfast syrup)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp salt

Pour the sauce over the dry ingredients until they are all slightly damp from it. Then spread over jelly roll pans (or 9X13 pans) to place in a 250 degree oven for about one hour and 15 minutes. Take out the pans and stir every 20 minutes or so. When they are crunchy and not wet they are done. The picture is of 2 batches of this recipe.

If you would like to start small-- here is the recipe in small amounts
3 cups oats
2 cups nuts
6 Tbs brown sugar
6 Tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
3/4 tsp salt

Week 17 -- Shrimp and Snow Peas

This dinner was delicious. I served it over fried rice but white rice would have been great too.

1 pound of shrimp (raw, peeled, deveined)
1 small package of snow peas (with the ends chopped off, any strings removed, and slice into bite sized pieces)

1/3 cup chicken stock
1 TBS Seasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp Soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

2 TBS garlic
2 tsp freshly grated ginger (which I did not have so I used 1/2 tsp powdered ginger)

In a bowl mix together the chicken stock, vinegar, soy sauce, & cornstarch. Set aside.

In a skillet with a TBS of vegetable oil start by sauteeing the shrimp. As they start to turn opaque (in 1-2 minutes) add the snow peas, garlic, and ginger. After another minute or 2 (when the shrimp is fully cooked and the snow peas are the tenderness you desire), add the bowl of sauce and stir until thickened.

Serve immediately over rice!

Week 16 - Ground Turkey meatballs

These were delicious.  Sorry but no pictures.

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
some salt and pepper
some fresh basil (cuz I happened to have it)

Mix together, shape into balls.  Place onto a broiler pan. 

Broil on the lower rack for 12-15 minutes, pull out and then turn and do a few more minutes till it is crispy everywhere on the outside.  (My low rack is pretty far from the boiler, if yours is not then watch them more closely -- broilers are great, but I do burn things quite often using them because I turn my back for 2 seconds!!!)

I served with mashed potatoes, white gravy and lingonberry sauce -- just like IKEA or Sweden -- only much yummier and with far fewer calories!!!

Week 15 - Goat Cheese and Asparagus pasta

This photo was taken with my iphone. Just as we were about to eat. It was a yummy dinner!!!!!

I had never had goat cheese. I have a friend (Amy G.) who makes a goat cheese and caramelized onion pizza (but since I don't LOVE onions) I never bothered to try it out.

So when I was flipping through the everyday food cookbook and saw this recipe I figured I ought to give it a try. To me it looked a lot like mac'n'cheese and since my kids love mac'n'cheese I assumed they would at least try it. And they did (and 2 of them liked it!)

I made several adaptations (based on my inability to read a recipe, but I would keep them)

First, rinse asparagus and place on a rimmed baking sheet dotted with 2 tbs of butter. Salt and pepper them. Put in a 350 oven for 15 minutes.

In the meantime,cook the pasta.

Save 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water. Pour the hot pasta water into a saucepan with 5 oz of crumbled goat cheese and 3 TBS of butter. Stir until all the cheese and butter are melted. Then take a couple tablespoons of the sauce and a small bowl and add 2 tbs of cornstarch. Stir until smooth and then add back into the saucepan. Stir over medium heat until it is thickened.

Take the roasted asparagus and the pasta and the sauce and combine. Then I added 2-3 tbs of balsamic vinagraitte.

Serve warm!!!!!

(the original recipe only uses 1/2 cup of pasta water and then does not require any thickening -- also the original does not use the balsamic -- I suspect that the original way has much more of the "goat cheese" tanginess. But for us -- this watered down more flavorful way worked better. I even had a friend try it and she liked it, when I told her it was goat cheese she was shocked because she hates goat cheese and can usually pick it out of anydish!!!!)

Week 14 - Marshmallow Fondant

Never liked fondant!

Never liked cakes made with fondant!

Until I tried this recipe for marshmallow fondant.  Now I am a believer.  I always figured why go to the effort to make a cake that tastes gross . . .  but not anymore!

1 regular bag of marshmallows (small or large -- it doesn't matter)
a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar
food coloring
a little water

Decide what colors you want a head of time and how much you might need of them. 

Put the marshmallows in a microwaveable bowl.  Melt them (30 second intervals for about 2 minutes). 

Once melted, you can easily add the food coloring to the marshmallows (but you can always color it later if you want to)

Put the powdered sugar onto a clean counter and make a mound out of it and then depress the center to make a bowl (like mashed potatoes waiting for gravy or like how you make homemade pasta).

Start mixing the 2 together.  (Yes, it will be messy)  As it starts to come together you can add a tiny bit of water to help it all congeal.  Keep kneading.  And then keep kneading! 

When you have a nice ball of fondant dough, use immediatly OR spread some shortening around the outside and put it in a ziplock bag.  Store (I put mine in the fridge, but I don't think you have to)  It will keep a LONG time.  (Unless you let your kids have a taste -- then it will start to disappear!!!)

Week 13 - Imitation Vanilla Scones

So on pioneerwomancooks.com I saw these Petite Vanilla Bean Scones.  I don't know exactly why . . .but I had to make them.  They looked so good and yet they seemed so different from my "traditional" understanding of scones (think fried bread - more like a doughnut bread). 

So I went to the store and looked for vanilla beans.  HOLY EXPENSIVE STUFF!  Since the recipe called for 2 of them this would have cost me $32.  At my store they were $15.99 each.  OUCH!

So I made them without, using my vanilla extract (subbing 1 1/2 tsp for each bean).  It was not as vanilla-ey as I wanted so next time I would use 2 tsp.  (but there will probably not be a next time)

They were so very cookie like.  Just thicker.  Not the doughnut bread I thought of when I thought of scones. 

They were very good with Hot chocolate (and I am sure that is why they sell them at Starbucks because they are probably good with coffe -- but I wouldn't know as I am not a coffee drinker). 

SCONES


3 cups All-purpose Flour
⅔ cups Sugar
5 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
1 whole Large Egg
¾ cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or more if you'd like

GLAZE
3 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
½ cups Whole Milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add vanilla to cream. 
Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.

Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.

Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.

Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

VANILLA GLAZE

Add vanilla to milk. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.

One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.

Week 12 -- A delicious cheese ball

8 oz cream cheese
2 TBS ranch dressing powder mix
2-3 Tbs heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Put this all in a mixer.  Whip it rather fast to incorporate the cream and so that the cream starts to whip a little.  Add a little more cream if you want it even softer. 

Scoop out onto saran wrap.  Shape into a ball. 

Roll in chopped pecans or walnuts, Serve with crackers! 

No pictures, because everyone ate it so fast. 

Week 11 -- Egg in the Hole

Today at the Library, my neighbor was reading the Food Network Magazine.  She showed me the cover and said, "Doesn't that look delicious?"  I laughed -- given that we eat "egg in the hole" several times a week.

Honestly, I hardly think it warrants a recipe.  It is very easy.

It does have some advantages I thought I would share.  

1.  It is "eggseptionally" quick to make.

2.  You don't need utensils to eat it. 

3.  You can wrap a paper towel around it and head out for the bus.

Using a cookie cutter or whatever you have on hand (the top of a glass) cut a hole in the bread.  At our house we always use a heart cookie cutter.  

Heat a skillet (or griddle).  Spray on some non-stick spray and lay the bread down.  Crack an egg in the hole.  Two of my kids do not like the yolk -- so for them I immediately take a fork and scramble the egg in the middle of the hole.    Wait 2-3 minutes and turn.  (Unlike the photo where they didn't turn it) but I like mine cooked nearly all the way through. 

With a large griddle I can cook 4 at a time (one for each kid), I put them on paper towels and they either eat them at the table or take them and head out the door for the bus.  Either way . . .  NO DISHES!  And that is really what makes a successsful breakfast at our house.

Week 10 - Cornstarch Pudding

My mother made this pudding for us whenever we were sick (it is supposed to calm an ailing stomach) -- it really is quite delicious though.  I like to eat it warm, but it is really good cold also.  Serve with fruit or plain. 

1 1/2 TBS cornstarch
2 TBS sugar
1 cup milk

Mix continuously with a wire whisk over medium high heat until it boils and thickens.  Turn off the heat and add

1/2 tsp vanilla 

Pour into molds or bowls to cool. 

Place plastic wrap right on top of the pudding itself to prevent a skin from forming. 

Week 9 -- Chicken Taco Rice

We made this at my ward's cooking group this month (along with the salsa I posted for week 8).  This is great because depsite it being a "new" food to my kids, they all ate it and LIKED it. 

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1 pkg frozen corn
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium red or green pepper
1 16oz can chicken broth
1 ½ cup instant rice (I used brown rice)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning

Cook the chicken.  Dice and set aside.  Cut peppers and sauté them in oil. Set aside.   In skillet add broth, tomato sauce, taco seasonin, chicken, and corn. Bring to a boil, then add peppers. Stir in rice and cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Use as a filling for tortillas.  Top with sour cream, cheese, and what ever else you like.

I also added 2 cans of black beans.  For my family, this made enough for 3-4 meals.  Very easy, very quick, and very yummy. 

Week 8 -- Another Salsa Recipe

This one is just as good as the other -- I like it as it doesn't call for jalapeno's (which I don't always have) and it is salty (which I like)


1 16 oz. can of plain diced tomatoes
2 TBSP Knorr chicken bouillon powder
1 10 oz can of Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
½ bunch of cilantro…twist off the top
3 or 4 green onions
2-3 fresh tomatoes cut up

In a food processor put diced tomatoes and bouillon powder and mix.

Then add can of Rotel tomatoes, bunch of cut up cilantro tops, onions (only use white part) Pulse 7-10 times

Then add 2-3 tomatoes cut up in fourths.

Can also add glove(s) of garlic at the end or avocado’s or frozen corn if you’d like

Week 7 - Texas Sheet Cake

I grew up having lots of Texas sheet cake and always liked it but never remember thinking I had to have it. Right before we moved away from Texas to Connecticut my mom's friend Linda T. brought this Texas sheet cake to a get together. I could not keep away from it. I probably ate 4 squares of it. I immediately asked for the recipe and wrote it down. I stuck it in my binder. I moved. I forgot all about it. I found it a while ago and realized I could not actually make Texas sheet cake as I did not own a jelly roll pan.

But, now I own 4 of them. I also found powdered buttermilk at the store so I have buttermilk whenever I want (like for this recipe) although both my Mom and my sister said they just add vinegar to milk -- I guess I missed learning that substitution.

It did not disappoint. It was delicious. The frosting especially. I had to lick the spoon and bowl.

In a saucepan bring to a boil
1. 1 cup water
2. 1/4 cup cocoa
3. 2 sticks margarine (I used butter as sticks of margarine are tricky to find here in the greater NYC area -- I can get them at Stop N Shop, but not costco, trader joe's, or stew leonards which are the 3 stores I shopped at this week).

Remove from heat and add
1. 2 cups sugar
2. 2 cups flour

Stir well, then add
1. 1/2 cup buttermilk
2. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3. 1 tsp vanilla
4. 1 tsp baking soda

Pour into a jelly roll pan (I sprayed mine with Pam although I don't know if it is necessary) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

While it is baking make the frosting.
Boil together
1. 1/4 cup cocoa
2. 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs buttermilk
3. 1 stick margarine (again, I used butter)
4. 1 tsp vanilla

Remove from heat (it looks really creamy and like you want to taste it, so I did and it is awful at this point -- only bitter chocolate!!!)

Now stir in 1 pound of powdered sugar and 1 cup of nuts if you so desire.

When the cake is done, let it stand 5 minutes then pour the frosting on top. Don't forget to leave some in the bowl because now it tastes really good!

Week 6 - Chicken and Noodles

So here is what I wanted to make off Pioneerwomancooks.com that required the homemade noodles. It was delicous. I highly recommend it.

Here is her recipe and if you follow the link you can see all her pictures.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6
Ingredients
1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
2 whole Carrots, Diced
2 stalks Celery, Diced
½ whole Medium Onion, Diced (optional)
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Turmeric
¼ teaspoons White Pepper (more To Taste)
¼ teaspoons Ground Thyme
2 teaspoons Parsley Flakes
16 ounces, weight Frozen "homemade" Egg Noodles
3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
Preparation Instructions
Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon. With two forks, remove as much meat from the bones as you can, slightly shredding meat in the process. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.
Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon, making sure to get any small bones that might have detached.
Add the carrots and celery (and onions, if using) to the pot, followed by the herbs and spices. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.
Increase heat and add frozen egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed.

Here is what I did different. I added 1 tsp of onion powder and 4 tsp of chicken boullion. And it took me two bowls of flour to get it thick enough.

Week 5 - Homemade Egg Noodles

I decided to try a new recipe from pioneerwomancooks.com and she recommended using homemade noodles for it and then she confided that the frozen bag of homemade noodles found at her grocery store in her small Oklahoma town. She often implies that if she has it there in Podunk, OK then we all will for sure have it wherever we may be.

I am here to tell you that despite being apart of the great metropolitan area of NYC the grocery stores here SUCK! There are no frozen homemade noodles to be found. The problem with grocery shopping here is that there are thousands of small stores -- each one with its own peculiarities and to find all the "normal" stuff I need it is not uncommon for me to have to frequent 4 grocery stores. Some of them even have names like "Super" in front of them. What they mean is "Super" expensive, super inconvenient, super likely to not have what I want.

So I had to make my own noodles. I followed the instructions on PW's website. Here is the link http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/homemade-pasta/

It was not so hard (6 eggs, 3 cups flour). But it was messy.

Lots of kneading and adding in a little flour.

I rolled it out (and now after they have been cooked) wished I had rolled it thinner, but I had already spent more time on this than I wanted. They were tasty.

Southwest egg rolls-- week 4

 

 

 

This is an easy meal all my kids love.

Brown ground turkey in a skillet with fajita seasoning.
When turkey is thouroughly cooked add a can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
Then add a cup or so of frozen corn.

Fill flour tortillas with the mixture and also add grated cheese.
Fold them up tightly and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Eat with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and cilantro jalapeno ranch!

Hot Chocolate -- Week 3

We make and consume a lot of Hot Chocolate. I have tried so many recipes. Here is one of my favorite (and easy and low in calories)

4 cups milk (I use skim)
1 package no sugar added chocolate pudding.

Stir together on the stovetop until you reach the desired temperature.

Drink! Because of the gelatin it has a creaminess that is only parallelled with LOTS of cream -- but this is a pretty low cal way to enjoy all the creaminess.

Baptism Cookies - week 2

These are the cookies that we have handed out as "favors" after both our daughter's baptisms. I use these cookies because they have white chocolate chips (since white is meaningful for a baptism) -- But trust me, they are good anytime. In fact they are so good that I don't have a photo (they were all eaten).

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups of oats
1 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well.

Note: This dough is thick. Spoon drop them onto a cookie sheet. (I use a cookie dough ball maker and you can also roll them into balls).

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Because there are so many oats, the cookies do not really flatten while cooking, so as soon as they are out of the oven give them a good smash with your spatula. Then move them to foil to cool down.

Also -- this makes a large batch of dough . . . so large that if I double the recipe it doesn't fit into my kitchen aid mixer.

Salsa by Michelle -- week 1

 

My friend made this delicious salsa. I got her recipe and now make it a little too often. I love that is is mostly canned ingredients (meaning I can make it even on the days when I haven't been to the store for a while). I also love that it is great straight out of the blender AND it is great if you choose to simmer it.

2 29oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles
2-3 diced jalapenos (deviened and deseeded)
2 bunches of green onions (white and green parts)
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch of cilantro
some salt (wait til after it has all been blended before adding)

Put it all in a blender (my blender is not big enough for it all so I put all but 1 can of tomatoes in the blender). I despise chopping so I put everything in whole and then blend and blend (because I prefer my salsa without chunks). Pour that first mix into a bowl and then blend the second can of tomatoes (here is where I don't blend very much -- I like chunky tomatoes, just not chunky onions and jalapenos!)

Now, Michelle serves it just like that (although she usually lets it sit in the fridge for a little while to marry all the flavors)

I am always in a hurry and want to eat it right now, so I decided (in an effort to marry those flavors faster) to put it in a pot and bring it to a simmer for 5 minutes. Then I served it warm.

It is great either way. Probably because it is winter, but I loved serving it warm. It reminded me of all my favorite Mexican restaurants in Houston who serve their salsa warm (pappasito's, guadalajara's).

Enjoy

P.S. my goal??? post 1 recipe a week all year!