Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

CAUTION: These cookies are only for those who LOVE chocolate. They are way chocolaty and must be accompanied by a big glass of milk, but oh so delicious!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips over low heat. Cream butter and sugar. Add melted chocolate chips and vanilla; beat in eggs; add flour mixture and remaining chocolate chips.
Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm (about 20 minutes).
Make small balls (1 inch); roll in confectioners' sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cool on wire rack.

Yummy Ham

My sister-in-law Jo made this ham for Thanksgiving and it was so good.

One bone in ham shank (not cooked)
Put ham in roaster and cover with a 2-litre bottle of 7-up
Put in oven at 250 form 11 hours
Take out of oven and cover with brown sugar and put back in oven for one more hour.
Total cooking time: 12 hours.

When you take the ham out of the oven it just falls apart and is so tender and sweet. I wish I had a picture, it would make you want it right now.

Red Skinned Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These potatoes are so good, I could eat them all the time.

1 1/4 lbs. red skinned potatoes, washed and quartered
2 1/2-3 cups water (you might need to add a little more depending on the size of the potatoes)
3 cubes chicken bouillon
7 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Place potatoes in large pan. Add water and bouillon and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain liquid, reserving a little, and then mash the potatoes. Add roasted garlic and the cream cheese in while mashing. Gradually add extra liquid from pan to potatoes to get as fluffy as you like and then sprinkle the parsley on top.

Roasted Garlic: Slice the end of a garlic bulb off. Place on tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap garlic clove in the tinfoil and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until garlic is soft. When done press garlic cloves out and add to potatoes. You can buy jars of roasted garlic in the store, but they just aren't the same compared to the fresh ones.

Sautéed Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Port, Dried Cherries and Rosemary

Shawn loves Pork Tenderloin and this is a great way to make it with a lot of flavor. I like to make this and serve it with my red skinned roasted garlic mashed potatoes (I'll post that recipe later).

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
olive oil
2 cloves fresh pressed garlic
1 lb. pork tenderloin trimmed and cut into 1-inch slices. Pound each slice 3/4 inch thick. (I put plastic wrap on counter and then put in pork. Put another piece of plastic wrap on top and then I use my meat mallet, but you can use anything heavy to pound it flat. Tenderloin is a very tender meat so it doesn't take much to get it pounded flat.)
1/3 cup port-I usually substitute apple juice
1/2 cup dried cherries
2/3 cup water mixed with 1 tsp. chicken soup base (this is kind of like bouillon, but a paste that you keep in the fridge)
2 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix salt, garlic powder, and pepper together. Sprinkle over both sides of the pork medallions. Put a little olive oil in large skillet over medium high. Add garlic to pan and brown slightly before adding medallions to pan. Working in batch's of no more than six medallions to avoid crowding, sear the pork without moving them until browned on one side about 80 seconds. Turn and sear the other side about 80 seconds or until pork is firm to touch. Transfer to a plate.

Set the now empty skillet used to cook the pork over medium high heat and add port/apple juice and cherries to pan. Cook scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to loosen any browned bits until the liquid in the pan reduces to about 2 Tablespoons (about 2-3 minutes). Increase the heat slightly and add chicken broth, rosemary and any meat juices from the plate. Stir often until sauce is the consistency of maple syrup. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Reduce the heat to medium and return pork to pan, turning the meat to coat. Simmer to heat the pork through, about 3 minutes. Transfer pork to serving plate and spoon sauce over meat. Serve immediately.

Each 4 oz. cooked portion of tenderloin with sauce has approximately 200 calories, 7.4 grams total fat.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 C. quick oats
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4. tsp. nutmeg
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 egg
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 C. mini chocolate chips (optional - but I always like adding)

Frosting:powdered sugar and orange juice (no/low pulp)

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, oats and spices. In a separate bowl mix pumpkin, egg and oil. Pour pumpkin mix into dry mix; add chocolate chips. Mix until just moistened. Drop onto lightly sprayed cookie sheets, large spoonfuls. Slightly flatten with spoon (they don't really spread, more like puff up). Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins. For frosting, mix with a mini rubber spatula sugar and orange juice until it gets to a frosting consistency. Make sure to use a tiny bit of orange juice at a time and add a little more as needed. Spread over cooled cookies.

Flank Steak

This is a yummy recipe for flank steak. I often have flank steak on hand for Asian meals and stirfry's so this is a different yummy way to cook it.

1 large flank steak

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. ginger

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup honey.

Mix all ingredients together, except steak, for marinade. Score meat on both sides so that the marinade can really get into the meat. Marinate beef for a minimum of eight hours. Cook on medium high for 12-15 minutes of a grill pan. I love my cast iron grill pan because it gives a good natural cooked on the grill smokey flavor, but use whatever you have. Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting so the juices redistribute and then slice across the grain.

Cafe Rio Chicken, Rice and Dressing

This recipe is a little different from one I have used in the past, but I like it a little better. I use either the shredded pork or the chicken from this recipe.

Rice
3 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
4 teaspoons garlic-minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles (or equivalent fresh)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 onion-chopped
3 cups rice
Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in a food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all the ingredients. Simmer covered for 30 minutes and then stir and serve.

Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno
Use the food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.

Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
3 cloves garlic-minced
5 lbs. chicken breasts
Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours. Shred meat and cook one additional hour.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts

Put chicken breasts in crockpot (thawed or frozen)

Pour following ingredients over chicken ( I like to double the sauce)

1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sprite
2-3 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp pepper

Cook on low 4-6 hours

(I like to take the leftover sauce and thicken it with cornstarch and cold water and make a gravy to pour over top my chicken and rice...I like sauce...we are saucey people)


Serve with wild rice

Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork

Put a pork loin in the crock pot for 4-6 hours (salt and pepper)
(I like to put it in the night before with a little water in the bottom)

Drain the fat
Shred the pork really good
Put the shredded pork back in the crockpot
Mix in: 1 can coke
2 Cups brown sugar
16 oz. mild salsa

Heat through and serve!

We like to eat this on fresh tortilla's, on a bun or in a salad.

Burrito Casserole

I found this recipe on another blog spot that some friends of mine have(http://www.pimpmydinner.blogspot.com/). Shawn and I really like the sauce. Take a package of frozen burritos and put them in a casserole dish. Mix together one can of green enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, and one cup of sour cream. Pour sauce over burritos and then sprinkle with cheese. Cook in the oven until heated through and serve. It is so simple for a quick dinner and pretty good.

Easy Rice

I made this rice for dinner yesterday and was reminded how easy and great it is. So, I decided it would be a good recipe for the blog. Here it is.

Easy Dinner Rice
1 box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
1 cup white rice
3 1/4 cups chicken broth (almost two full cans)
3 Tablespoons butter

Combine all the ingredients, even the seaon packet from rice box, in rice cooker and cook. Yes, it is that simple. It turns out full of flavor and just a little nicer than regular rice for a side dish.

Roasted Garlic Pizza with White Sauce

My husband and I love roasted garlic. So, we really enjoyed this pizza. The key to getting a good pizza crust is to crank your oven up all the way to 500 and let your pizza stone get nice and hot in there before you add the pizza. The second you put the dough on the hot stone (with a pizza peel) it immediately starts to crisp up and cook perfectly.

1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 to 4 heads Roasted Garlic, recipe follows
2 to 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal, for sprinkling on baker's peel
1 recipe Parmesan Pizza Dough, recipe follows
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
4 ounces grated fontina
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Gently heat milk in a small saucepan, just until barely simmering. Remove and keep covered.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter. When foam subsides, add flour and stir until smooth. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring. Do not allow flour to color. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking to combine. Add the salt and cayenne and increase the heat to medium. Cook the mixture, whisking continuously, until the sauce comes to a boil and is thickened. Remove from heat and add 10 of the roasted garlic cloves. Pour the hot mixture into a blender, cover tightly, and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and cool slightly, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface.

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the yellow cornmeal on a baker's peel or baking sheet. Place the rolled out pizza dough circle on the prepared baker's peel or baking sheet.

Spread the cooled sauce over pizza dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Place sliced mozzarella on top of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining roasted garlic cloves (whole) over the cheese and top with the grated fontina. Bake the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly and golden brown in spots. Remove from the oven and sprinkle chopped herbs over the top. Serve immediately.

Roasted Garlic: 3 to 4 heads garlic, upper quarter removed 4 teaspoons olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet and rub 1 teaspoon of oil into the top of each head. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and place, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until the cloves are soft and golden, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Carefully remove each clove of garlic from the head. Squeeze each head of garlic to expel any cloves that you cannot remove individually. Set aside until needed.




Yield: enough for 1 pizza
Recipe: Courtesy of Food Network (Emerill Lagasse)

Just the beginning

This is just the beginning of my little blog for one of my favorite things to do.....cooking. I know it might sound wierd, but I really enjoy being in the kitchen. It is kind of a way to de-stress and be creative. So, this is were I want to post fun new recipes. And for family and friends who received an invited, I would love to hear your good recipes also. Please post!