Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always looking for new cookie recipes. They are simple and easy to make and everyone always loves them. I made these for the boys when the went hunting. They turned out great. I did a little substituting and all ingredients I used were organic.

Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 5 Dozen

3 1/4 Cups Flour (I did 2 1/4 cups white flour and 1 cup wheat flour)
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/3 Cups Butter, softened
1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
4 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Package (12 oz) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts


MIX flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

DROP by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375*F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.


**The wheat flour just gives it a little more nutty flavor and was actually good. Devin thought they were really good and he didn't know there was wheat flour in them. You could also use Almond Flour.**

Oven-Barbecued Chicken

I found this recipe and we love it so much that I make it once a week! There is nothing better than making your BBQ Sauce from scratch. You can tailor it to your own taste and that is awesome. It was my first time making BBQ sauce - I have a hard time finding BBQ sauce at the store without High Fructose Corn Syrup in it so making this from scratch means it's healthy.

 Oven-Barbecued Chicken

2 to 2 1/2 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks), skinned -- I use the breast halves because they have the most meat on them
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, chopped (1/2 Cup)
1 Clove Garlic, minced -- I use already minced garlic
3/4 Cup Bottled Chili Sauce -- I couldn't find any without high fructose corn syrup so I ended up using RedHot Wings sauce Original and it works great.
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Prepared Horseradish -- I found this at Trader Joes and it'll last awhile in the fridge.
1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Arrange chicken pieces, bone sides up, in an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baked dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until tender. Stir in chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, mustard, horseradish, and red pepper; heat through.

3. Turn chicken, bone sides down. Brush half of sauce over chicken. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Reheat remaining sauce until boiling; serve with chicken. Makes 4 servings.


My Changes:

1. I add extra honey to my sauce - I no longer measure the ingredients. You can add other things if you want.

2. I brush BOTH sides of the chicken with the BBQ sauce instead of just the top. I think it makes it even better.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Cake

I made this for Easter and it was so yummy. Too many desserts @ the Bartlett Easter that not a whole lot of it got eaten so I ended up eating most of it haha!

Lemon-Poppy Seed Cake
Makes 16 servings

1 Box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Lemon Cake Mix
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3 Eggs
2 Tablespoons Poppy Seed
1/2 Cup Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Lemon Frosting

1. Heat oven to 325*F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan, or spray with baking spray with flour.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir poppy seeds into batter. Pour into pan.

3. Bake 38-42 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn upside down onto heatproof serving plate. Remove pan; cool cake completely, about 1 hour. Store loosely covered.

4. In microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on Medium 15 seconds. Spread over top of cake (I used a knife and drizzled it on so it looked nicer), allowing some to drizzle down the sides. Store loosely covered.

Skillet Rosemary Chicken

Here's the new recipe that we tried tonight. We are venturing out of the normal recipes. We bought a bunch of books and marked up the pages. Now we are trying new things and passing the recipes on!

Skillet Rosemary Chicken
Active Time: 20 Min
Total Time: 40 Min
Serves: 4

3/4 Pound Small Red Potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
Sea Salt
2 Sprigs Rosemary, plus 1 Tablespoon leaves
1 Clove Garlic, Smashed (I used already chopped up garlic)
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
Juice of 2 Lemons (save the squeezed halves)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (I used 8 chicken breasts boneless no skin)
1 Package of Mushrooms (I used two packages)


1. Preheat the oven to 450*. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.

2. Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat. (I didn't have the patience to make it into paste so I got as close as I could)

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet and drizzle with the juice of the remaining lemon. Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20-25 minutes.

Montel Williams Sweet Green Smoothie

This mornings Smoothie....

Montel Williams Sweet Green Smoothie

2 Ripe Organic Bananas, peeled
1 Large Organic Orange, peeled leaving pith and seeds intact
1 Organic Mango, skinned (I use frozen mango pieces)
1 Tablespoon Light Agave Nectar
2 Heads of Dark Green Organic Romaine Lettuce, washed
Purified Water
Pinch of Sea Salt

Preparation
Put everything into the blender, fill with water and blend. Serve immediately. Smoothie will keep for a few days in the fridge.

Chicken and Dumplings with Veggies

I got this recipe from The Oregonian This Week (Food Day). I made it in the crockpot the first time and the second time in a pot on the stove. This recipe says to make it in a Dutch Oven but I don't have one. It turned out great both ways however, if you make it in the crockpot you will need to transfer it to a pot on the stove in order to bring it to a boil so the dumplings will cook.

Here's the article and the recipe.

This dish is essentially chicken with gravy and biscuits, which means almost any veggies would taste good in it. Use the veggies in this recipe as suggestions and add, delete or change however you see fit.

Chicken and Dumplings with Veggies
Makes 4-6 Servings

Chicken:
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter (1/2 Stick)
3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
5 Cups Chicken Broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I just used regular pepper)
2 Large Carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used Frozen Veggie Mix with Corn, Carrots and Peas the second time I made it...much faster)
2 Cups Peeled and Cubed (1/2 inch) butternut or other winter squash (I skipped this)
2 Cups diced, boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, or cooked diced or shredded chicken (I just cooked a whole chicken in the oven)
1 Cup Peas, or small broccoli or cauliflower florets

Dumplings:
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Parsley or Dill (Optional)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1/2 Cup Milk

To Make Chicken: Melt the butter in a Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth, a little at a time, letting the roux absorb the liquid and become smooth before adding more. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the carrots and squash. If using uncooked chicken and broccoli or cauliflower, add it now (if using cooked chicken or peas add it later). Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes while you make the dumplings.

To Make Dumplings: Place flour, baking powder, salt and herb if using, in the bowl of a food processor (I used my hand mixer); pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until reduced to tiny pieces. Add milk, pulse to combine. Gather dough into a ball and pinch off chunks the size of a golf ball and roll into balls.

Remove the lid from the pot, stir and then add the dumplings, spacing then evenly. Cover pot and cook, without peeking, for 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the dumplings comes out clean. If using peas and cooked chicken, stir them in now and continue simmering until they're heated through (I add the peas and chicken right before the dumplings).

My Cousin Tina's Thai Red Curry Chicken

Thai Red Curry Chicken
*This is meant to be spicy

2 T Olive Oil
1 lb Boneless Chicken Breasts, cubed or cut into strips
1 Tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste – A Taste of Thai (I used Thai Kitchen Curry Paste in a jar)
1 C Zucchini sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper seeded and sliced
1 Green Pepper seeded and sliced
½ C Carrots sliced
1 onion, quartered and halved
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 14-oz Can Light Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Cilantro Fresh, chopped

Directions:
1) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken pieces. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes, until almost all pink is gone.

2) Mix in the veggies and continue to stir fry, about 5 minutes. Veggies should start to soften.

3) Stir in the Curry Paste

4) Dissolve the cornstarch in the coconut milk.
a. I also add 2 T sugar
b. A dash of pepper
c. A few squirts of lime juice
d. 3 cloves of fresh garlic (I used already chopped garlic)

5) Pour the milk mixture into the meat and veggies. Stir fry an additional 1-3 minutes, until the sauce is warm.

6) Add the fresh cilantro right before pulling off the stove.

Other things you can add:
1. Potatoes
2. Squash
3. Mushrooms
4. Yellow and Orange Peppers

**I like to add extra of everything so that way we have leftovers. I put in probably 2 cups of carrots! I made mine in my wok pan since it's huge and can hold more. This recipe is VERY yummy!

Special Thank You to my cousin Tina for sharing it!!