Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Nothing better than a glass of cold milk with a plate of warm freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

What You Will Need:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Disclaimer: This is the recipe right off the back of the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bag (this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have found to date)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

 

 

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl

 

 



 

 

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl until creamy.  For this step I use a electric hand mixer

 

 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, gradually beat in flour mixture, mix until well combined

 

 

Add in chocolate chips (for this step I switch back to my handy wooden spoon)

 

 

Drop rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets

To keep cookies from spreading and keep them slightly thicker with the chewy texture of a soft batch cookie, drop tablespoon into ungreased muffin pan

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown

 

 

Remove cookies from pans, place on wire cooling rack until cookies are cool to the touch

 

Regular

Baked in muffin pan



Serve and enjoy!

 

 

 



Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

 

From my family to yours Happy Holidays!

 

Remember enjoy your holiday with your family  and friends, don't stand in the kitchen all day slaving over your cooking and baking.  Keeping it simple, no frills cooking, but delicious food you will enjoy the day as well!

Herb of The Day - Rosemary

Rosemary

 

 

* Thin, dark green, needlelike leaves, very aromatic
* To release the flavor of dried leaves, crush them just before using them
* Best to chop very finely, or crush using mortar and pestle before using
* Use whole sprigs to infuse flavor into dishes, remove before serving
* Fresh leaves can be tied in a square of cheesecloth to make them easier to remove



Rosemary taste good with/in:

* Meat dishes (especially lamb & pork)
* Chicken
* Tomato based sauces
* Breads
* Stuffed vegetables
* Pizza
* Potato gratins



Mouth Watering Collard Greens

Collard Greens

 

 

 

Just looking at this bowl of collard greens has my mouth watering.  To be completely honest with you though I am a new fan of collard greens, in the past if someone would mention collard greens and I would scrunch my nose at them.  I think it was more for the simple reason that it was one of the main foods we would serve to our Iguana.  Then about a year ago my older brother was having a cookout and was making chicken and collard greens and they smelt so good.  Now my older brother is very persistent when he wants you to try something so when he insisted I try them I folded and did, boy am I glad I did.  The collards he made were so delicious that I was determined to find a recipe and make some of my own.  I knew the basic ingredients my brother used and searched the internet for a similar recipe, when I didn't find exactly what I wanted I decided to wing it and this is what I came up with.  These delicious smoky, flavorful collard greens.  My version I would not say are the healthiest of side dishes to have with meals, so these I only make on occasion.  So thanks to my brother for opening me up to the world of collard greens.  I hope you enjoy my recipe.

 

What You Will Need:

 

 

Ingredients:

1 - 16 oz. bag of collard greens (you may use fresh but be sure to clean them very well and remove stems, my bag comes cleaned and steamed) **there is a lot of meat in this dish so if you have a big enough pot I would suggest 2 bags)
1 lb. package of salt pork
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 oz. Apple Cider Vinegar
Water (enough to cover ham hocks by several inches)
1 pkg. or 1 piece of smoked ham hocks (this time I used smoked ham shank because my store was out of the hocks either way doesn't matter)
1 lb. of bacon

Directions:

Add water to your stock pot

 

Remove your smoked ham hock from it's packaging (the picture shown above is actual a smoke ham shank)

Place your ham hock in your pot of water and make sure the water is several inches above your ham hock

Cut your salt pork into bite size pieces about 1 inch in size

 

Add the salt pork, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to stock pot with you water and ham hock

Turn burner to medium high, cover and boil for 1 hour, stirring occasionally

 

 

Cut your bacon into bite size pieces, about 1 inch in size

 

Add bacon pieces to frying pan and cook until crispy

 

When bacon is crispy add bacon and drippings to pot (only after the salt pork and the ham hock cooked for an hour)

Add collard green to pot, stir well, cover and continue to cook for an additional hour.

 

 

My personal preference is to cook collards until water is almost completely gone from pot or at least boiled off half in size of original amount of water (this is a personal preference you make take off burner and eat when greens are to the tenderness of your liking)

Serve and enjoy!

 

 



Herb of the Day - Thyme

 

Thyme

 

 

 

* Thyme leaves are very aromatic, pointed, oval and green
* Fresh leaves can be used in just about any savory dish
* Dried leaves hold their aroma and flavor well
* Chopped fresh leaves are more pungent than dried, if using in place of dried leaves use sparingly


Thyme Leaves taste good with/in :

* Any slow cooked dish
* Stews
* Soups
* Sautéed or baked vegetables
* Sauces
* Stuffing
* Poultry Dishes
* Meat Dishes
* Breads



Herb of the Day - Bay Leaves

Bay Leaves

 

* Fresh Bay leaves should be glossy and unblemished
* Whole leaves release more flavor when shredded or chopped
* Remove whole leaves before serving
* Dried leaves can be used whole or crumbled

Bay Leaves taste good with/in :

*Soups
*Meat Dishes
*Poultry Dishes
*Pasta Sauces
*Fish Dishes

 

Bacon Mac & Cheese

 

Bacon Mac & Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

My family loves mac & cheese and I love bacon so came my bacon mac & cheese recipe.  I never used to make my own mac & cheese, I would buy it boxed or frozen and feed that to my family, I know although convenient not always the tastiest, some are not bad but never as good as homemade. One day my youngest daughter Monica asked for mac & cheese and as usual I was going to throw a frozen dish of it in the oven, but then it occurred to me that I had several different types of cheese in the refrigerator so what the heck I will just try my hand at making it from scratch.  Now for my first mac & cheese I had three different types of cheese in it and although everyone loved it my family is partial to traditional cheddar cheese mac & cheese so that is the recipe I will be sharing with you all today.  Hope you enjoy this YUMMY No Frills Bacon Mac & Cheese!

 

 

 

What You Will Need:

 

 

 

 

Cost to make:  $17.57

 

Ingredients:

 

1 lb. box of elbow noodles $1.28

2 cups milk (I use 1% but you can use whatever you want) $0.24

1 stick of butter $0.75

6 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese $12.84

2.5 oz. real bacon pieces (you can fry & cut your own bacon ) $1.66

1 cup of plain bread crumbs for topping (this is optional but my family loves the crunchy layer, sorry picture is not shown) $0.80

 

Directions:

 

Boil elbow noodles according to package directions (I like to leave them on the andante side since they will cooking longer in the oven).

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 

 

Turn stove on to medium heat and place stick of butter in pot.

 

 

Add 1 cup of milk into pot with butter, heat butter and milk until butter melts, do not bring to a boil.

 

 



Add cheese 2 cups at a time, stirring until cheese melts.  Continue to add cheese until you have melted all 6 cups of cheese, stirring continuously cheese sauce will start to thicken.

 

 

Still in strained noodles and bacon pieces.

 

 

Pour mac & cheese into baking dish.

 

 

Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of mac & cheese.  Bake in oven for 1 hour or until top of mac & cheese is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

 

Serve & enjoy!!

 

 





Easy No Frill Yummy Potato Skins

Potato Skins

 

 

Who doesn't like potato skins?  What is not to like?  These yummy treats are relatively inexpensive to make and take little skills or effort to make.  You can make 5 lbs. worth or just 3 potatoes depending on your needs.  Potatoes are generally a staple most people keep on hand in their kitchen and these yummy treats are great for game night, movie night or as my girls will say they are a meal on their own.  Now in my house we are divided, some of us like scallions and some do not, some like sour cream and some do not, so you can add or leave out ingredients to suite your preference.

 

Ingredients:

 

5 lbs. Russet Potatoes

4 cups of Sharp Cedar Cheese Shredded

2 pkgs. (2.5 oz. each) of real bacon pieces

Scallions (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

 

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Wash potatoes making sure to rub potatoes skin roughly to ensure all dirt is removed.

Place clean potatoes on baking sheet , place in oven for approximately 1 hour or until a fork inserts easily into potato.

 

 

Once potatoes are cooked remove from oven and cut potatoes in half lengthwise.

 

Take a spoon and scoop out potato filling

 

I place potato filling in a bowl and save for making mashed potatoes, potato pancakes or potato casserole (or for making my grandmother's Halusky aka potato dumplings).

 

 Get your 4 cups of Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or mild cedar if you prefer).

 

 

Fill each potato with a heaping pile of shredded cheese (keep in mind when the cheese melts it will not stay as full as they look now).

 

 

 Get your scallions (also known as green onions, but if you look closely at the bag above green onions it reads scallions).  I take about 6 pieces and use my kitchen scissors to cut pieces of he green sections into little circles. Once you have a pile of cut scallions add a few pieces to each potato.

 

 

I place about 5 rings of scallions on each potato but you can add as much or little as you like (as like some of my family members who do not like scallions I leave some potatoes scallion free).

 

 

 

Now is the time for my favorite topping, BACON!!!  Now you could buy bacon, fry it and cut it yourself, but for me I find it jus as well to buy two packages (2.5 oz. each) of real bacon pieces. 

 

 

Add a little pile of bacon to each potato.

 

Place the sheet of potatoes in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes just long enough for the cheese to melt.

 

YUMMY!! All done time to eat.

 

At this point you may place a dollop of sour cream to you potato or place a pile on your plate for dipping purposes (Again this is an optional topping that does not have to be used).