Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite things to make is chocolate chip cookies. I always use the Nestle Tollhouse recipe but I make my own adjustments to what I think will make them better. So far I've discovered using half butter (real, unsalted butter) and half shortening plus a teaspoon of baking powder. Ever since I was younger and made cookies for my brother I was always on a mission to have the best chocolate chip cookies. This time around I made it with three types of chocolate chips; semi-sweet, white, and milk chocolate. They turned out really good! Everyone who likes a different type of chocolate will be satisfied with one cookie.
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 c butter, softened (very important it's only soft)
1/2 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c milk chocolate chips
1/4 c white chocolate chips
1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (or you can do it in any variation, we prefer milk chocolate)

Preheat oven to 375 and spray cookie sheets with cooking oil. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl beat butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon. Bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

For High Altitude: Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 t water to flour and reduce both sugars to 2/3 cup each.

*You can wrap dough in plastic wrap and then again in foil and freeze. Then let thaw to make cookies for another day.

Lasgana Cassarole

When I had my little boy back in February we got this delicious meal from a friend one evening. It was really good and what I think of comfort food. Just what I needed after having a baby. I got the recipe a while back but never got around to making it, as you can see it makes a lot of food for just two people. The only problem I ran into is no grocery store in the area sells provolone cheese in block form. So I bought deli slices and used my magic bullet blender to shred the cheese. It's really simple to make and it's great for left overs, which we'll be having all week. Warning: it's definitely not low on fat! But high on taste. 1 lb ground beef
onion flakes (to taste)
8 oz shredded provolone
8 oz shredded mozzarella
4 oz shredded Parmesan
1 c sour cream
1 lb rotini noodles
jar of marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's)
parsley

Cook noodles. Cook beef and onion until done then add marinara sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix noodles with beef and marinara. Take 1/2 of noodle/beef mixture and spread in a 9x13 pan. Spread 1/2 c sour cream, then 1/2 provolone, mozzarella and Parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley.. Repeat steps one more time. Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover the last 10 minutes to make a little crispy. Serves 6-8.

tip: you can half the recipe for smaller servings

Balsamic-Glazed Salmon

I'm still on my search for finding delicious salmon recipes. Without having a grill I often find myself at a dead end. I keep coming across recipes using a cedar plank to cook the salmon on the grill, but I always have to skip over them because I can't put a cedar plank in the oven. This recipe was very good. It has a distinct taste, due to the balsamic vinegar. It was quite and easy to do, which is always a winner.

4 salmon fillets
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T honey
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
4 t mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 T oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Over medium heat cook and stir garlic, white wine, honey, balsamic vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for about 3 minutes. Arrange salmon fillets on baking sheet and brush with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with oregano. Bake for 12 minutes, or until flesh flakes. Brush fillets with some glaze and serve over rice.

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

It's like apple pie for dinner! I'll admit I do not enjoy pork chops. I don't enjoy pork unless it's slathered in BBQ sauce or some kind of sauce that masks the taste. But my husband does enjoy pork chops and I'm sure he is getting sick of chicken, salmon and meatless. I sucked it up and made this recipe. Now for you other pork chop haters, and I know you are out there, you can substitute the chops for chicken. But the apple part of the dinner was delicious.
4 thick pork chops
1 t olive oil
2 T brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 t cinnamon
18 t nutmeg
2 T unsalted butter
2 tart apples (I used Pink Lady Apples), chopped

Preheat oven to 175 degrees and place a medium dish in the oven to warm. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Brush chops with oil and place in hot pan. Cook for 5-6 minutes turning occasionally, until done. Transfer to warm dish and keep in preheated oven. In a small bowl combine all ingredients except butter and apples. Add butter to skillet and stir in mixture and apples. Cover and cook, until apples are just tender. Pour over chops and serve.

Maple Glazed Salmon with Pineapple

This was a delicious salmon recipe. I'm yet to find one that I don't enjoy. We absolutely love salmon in this family. I probably could eat it everyday, okay maybe not every day but at least twice a week. This was super easy to make and while the recipe says it takes 40 minutes it really can be done in under 30 minutes. I always made some adjustments to the recipe, which worked out for the better.


1/2 c maple syrup (I just used Mrs. Butterworth, that's all I have)
2 T mustard
4 6 oz salmon fillets
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
whole fresh pineapple
1 jalapeno, chopped finely
2 c cooked rice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile whisk together maple syrup and mustard over medium heat, bring to boil. Simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. Place salmon on foil lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the peel from the pineapple and cut into chunks. Scatter pineapple and jalapeno around salmon. Brush with half syrup mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes or until salmon is done. Serve with rice and drizzle remaining sauce over rice. Serves 4.

Jambalaya

We must really like the South because it seems we are having a lot of food originated from the South. This time we had some delicious jambalaya. It's very similar to the gumbo I make. It's definitely not for the weak. It's has a kick to it, it's so spicy it makes my husband's nose run. If you don't like a lot of spice you can eliminate the Cajun seasoning and do less of the other seasonings. Serve it over some rice.


1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb andouille chicken sausage, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 c chopped celery
1 c chicken broth
2 t dried oregano
2 t dried parsley
2 t Cajun seasoning
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t dried thyme
1 lb shrimp

In a slow cooker mix all ingredients except the shrimp. Cover and cook for 7-8 hours on Low or 2-4 hours on High. Stir in shrimp for last 30 minutes.

Chicken Florentine & Pasta

This was a delicious and easy meal to make. I was able to do most of the work ahead of time and then just pop it into the oven when I was ready for dinner. I served it with some rotini pasta but any type of pasta would work great with it.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 c butter
3 t minced garlic
1 T lemon juice
2 c fresh spinach
1 T Italian seasoning
1/2 c half and half
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 can cream of mushroom
2/3 c bacon bits
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place the chicken breast on a baking sheet, bake of 25 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside. Increase oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom, Italian seasoning, half and half and Parmesan cheese. Stir constantly. Arrange spinach over bottom a 9x9 baking dish. Cover the spinach with half of the mixture. Arrange chicken in pan and cover with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned.