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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

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 You read that right: these are THE best chocolate chip cookies ever. I found a basic recipe back when... I'm not even sure now? I think I still lived at home so let's just say it's been well over a decade! Anyway, the recipe was fine but regularly made thin, crispy cookies which are awful (sorry, not sorry). I spent many hours, tears, and pounds of butter throughout the last fifteen-ish years, tweaking the recipe slightly here and there to find just the right balance. I can finally say I have achieve the most perfect cookie, and it's my first real recipe... as in, I created it!  They are chewy and thick, with a crunchy edge and hold up their soft, chewy insides even after being left out overnight. Honestly, I even skip the cookies at the store because I prefer these. Chocolate Chip Cookies 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1.5 sticks), softened 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 whole egg 1 egg yolk 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Pinch

French Onion Chicken Bake

 Honestly, this took forever because of the caramelized onions, but it was SO delicious. Suggestion: either caramelize the onions in advance (even the day before) or plan on dinner being late. French Onion Chicken Bake Adapted from here 2 Tablespoons butter 3 medium sweet yellow onions, sliced thinly 1 tsp granulated sugar 2 teaspoons salt 5-6 cloves garlic, minced 1 ½ tbsp Italian seasoning (or just oregano, garlic, basil) ¾ cup white wine 2 tbsp olive oil 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts* 1 tsp black pepper 1 ¼ cup chicken or beef stock 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp cornstarch 8 ounces (2 cups) gruyere In a large braiser, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and season with the sugar and salt. Sauté for about 20-25 minutes (this took us an hour!), stirring occasionally. The onions should be caramelized and brown. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scra

Thai Peanut Noodles

 Significantly better than our last attempt. Honestly phenomenal with some fresh crushed cashews on top. Thai Peanut Noodles Adapted from here 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar or honey 1/2 teaspoon chili paste like sambal oelek 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar 2 garlic cloves minced 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 3 tablespoons water 8 oz. noodles ramen or other Cook noodles according to instructions on the package. Drain and keep warm. Whisk all ingredients for sauce in a small bowl or measuring cup. Make sure the sauce is smooth and the peanut butter mixed well with all ingredients. Taste and add more chili paste if needed. Heat up the sauce in a pan or in a microwave and pour over noodles. Toss to coat. Garnish noodles with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve.

Pioneer Woman Mac & Cheese

 This one had great flavor and was pretty easy, but it was gritty and honestly too cheesy. Let's keep trying. Mac and Cheese Adapted from here 1lb dry pasta 1/2 stick butter 1/4 cup salted butter 2-1/2 cup whole milk 2 tsp dry mustard 8oz pepper jack 8oz sharp cheddar 8oz medium cheddar Cook noodles until al dente. Drain. Melt butter in a large pot and sprinkle in flour. Whisk constantly over medium low heat for 5 minutes.  Pour in the milk and mustard (and any other seasonings). Whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes or until very thick. Reduce heat to low. Add in cheese in small batches, stirring to melt. Pour in cooked noodles. Layer noodles and sliced cheddar cheese in baking dish and bake at 350* for 25 minutes or until top is brown and bubbly.

One Pot Cajun Pasta

 We've tried this dish a few different ways, tweaking the seasoning, cheese, and veggies to match the theme. If we are going Italian, we do Italian sausage, oregano and basil, and mozzarella. You can do it however you'd like, it's really a blank canvas. One Pot Cajun Pasta Adapted from here Avocado oil, or oil of choice 1 large onion, diced 1 package (12oz) andouille sausage, sliced Salt and pepper, to taste Cajun seasoning Garlic (powdered or fresh) Smoked paprika 4 cups chicken broth 2 cans (14oz) diced tomatoes 1 cup milk 16oz pasta 1 cup (8oz) shredded pepper jack cheese Heat olive oil in a large pot (we prefer our Dutch oven). Add onions and sliced sausage. Stir to coat in oil. Coat in salt, pepper, paprika, Cajun seasoning, and garlic. Toss well. Cook until onions are translucent. Pour in tomatoes (do NOT drain), chicken broth, and milk. Stir in uncooked pasta noodles. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until pasta is cooked through, about 12 min

Chili Soy Pork

 This particular recipe started as a chicken thigh recipe. However we were making something with chicken already that week and wanted to change it up. I suggested pork, and Jeff immediately decided on pork shoulder. Now, I can't imagine it any other way. Chili Soy Pork Adapted from  here 2lbs pork shoulder, cut into bite sized pieces 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons gochujang 2 tablespoons spicy chili sauce 1/4 cup oyster sauce 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 cup scallions, diced Cut the pork into bite sized pieces and place in a ziplock bag or a bowl Combine soy sauce, gochujang, chili sauce, oyster sauce, garlic and scallions. Whisk together and pour over pork, coating well. Marinate at minimum 1 hour, recommend overnight. Preheat the oven to 425F. Add oil to a hot pan and sear each side of the pork for 1-2 minutes, or until browned. Remove from pan onto a cookie sheet. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice with veggies of your choice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice

 Definitely the hit of the season. Easy, quick, cheap, and SO delicious. This is definitely going to be a favorite in our house. Notes: it is enough for us for now... but in the near future, we will need a lot more. The rice is delicious because the chicken cooks in it, so unfortunately, we can't just make more rice. It could be done in the oven, though, so you could easily bake a second dish. Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice Adapted from here 2-3 tbsp olive oil 4-6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on Salt Pepper 3 cups chicken broth 2 cups jasmine or basmati rice 2 tbsp butter Garlic powder 2 limes, juiced 1/3 cup cilantro, finely diced Coat the bottom of the Dutch oven with oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper liberally over both sides of your chicken. Arrange the chicken in the oil of the Dutch oven, skin side down. Turn on medium heat. Cook chicken 8-10 minutes, untouched, or until skin releases easily from pan. Flip and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and turn he

Dutch Oven Beef Stew

 More Dutch oven.  Why not? It's absolutely delightful and so easy. First of all, this calls for "stew meat." What is stew meat? Google says round steak or chuck steak. Take your pick. We tried this 3 ways over the course of the winter. First we added the potatoes into the stew as the recipe suggests. That was fine. Unremarkable but fine. Then we skipped the potatoes in the stew, made a separate bowl of mashed potatoes, and served the stew over those. Oh yes, this is how it was intended to be. The pure definition of warm comfort food. Last, we put the stew over white rice made separately. That was Jeff's favorite. Ultimately, my suggestion is to skip the potatoes in the stew and make whatever starch you want for your bowl, whether it's mashed potatoes or rice. Beef Stew Adapted from here 1 tbsp butter 2lbs stew meat, diced 1/2 cup flour Salt Pepper Garlic powder Paprika Thyme 1 cup dry red wine 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 small can tomato paste (about 2-3 tablespoon

Dutch Oven Chicken & Dumplings

 I'm on a Dutch oven kick. Why not? I can cook the entire meal in one pot, usually on the stove, and it looks pretty too.  It helps that it's so cold outside. I have no measurements for my seasonings. I season with my heart. I season until my British Isles ancestors roll in their graves. Chicken & Dumplings Adapted from here Soup 2 tbsp olive oil 1lb chicken breasts 1 medium onion, diced 1 cup diced carrots 1/2 cup diced celery Salt Pepper Thyme Garlic powder Onion powder 4 cups chicken broth 1/4 cup heavy cream Dumplings 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 egg 1/2 cup milk 2 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp salt Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven. Add chicken and onion. Season as you stir. Cook for 5 minutes. Add carrots and celery, cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Pour in broth and season again. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until veggies are soft. Add cream. In a separate bowl, mix the dumpling ingredients together with

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

 Our neighbor brought us a basket of fresh picked strawberries, and while our kids inhale strawberries, we had just picked up a bunch from the grocery store. There was no way we could eat them all.  Well, there was, but it would be ridiculous. So instead, I headed to Pinterest for ideas. This particular recipe was so delicious that we immediately made it again, substituting the strawberries for raspberries and lemon. It was way more tart with the raspberries and lemon, but I also went hard with lemon, so it's possible to sweeten it up.  The point is, you can use most berries in some form. It's worth noting that this does go bad relatively quickly when left at room temperature, even when well wrapped.  We didn't quite finish the last pieces of either version before they went bad... and we ate it fast. So either store it in the fridge, or bring it to share within a day or two. Strawberry Oatmeal Bars Adapted from here 1 cup rolled oats 3/4 cup flour 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 ts

Cornbread

Homemade Cornbread Adapted from here 1 cup yellow cornmeal 1 cup whole milk 1 cup flour 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 large egg 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted Preheat oven to 400* Mix the cornmeal and whole milk together in a mixing bowl. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. DON'T TOUCH. After 10 minutes, stir in the rest of the ingredients. Make sure you stir well to incorporate all of the ingredients. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Sausage, Onions, & Peppers Tortellini

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Quarantine day one bazillion We've stopped counting.  We stopped counting days, glasses of wine consumed, calories, and meltdowns.  We're safe in our house, we're avoiding all human contact, and nothing else matters. Baking and cooking gives us a pretend purpose during the day beyond responding to work emails, zoom meetings, changing diapers, and potty training.  It's a nice reprieve.  So here's our newest recipe! Couple of things to note: You can use either sweet or spicy Italian sausage.  We used spicy because I never buy anything else.  Also we used uncased, but there's really no reason you couldn't cook links and chop it up or slice it. Our bell peppers were tiny and there was enough, but I wouldn't have been sad if we had normal sized ones and more in the pasta We used our favorite marinara sauce, but you can use whatever tomato based sauce you want.  Plain tomato sauce?  Arrabiata? Do you. We used Costco's 5 cheese tortellini and we

Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Pasta

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Quarantine Day 9287473829. Or at least that's what it feels like.  Mostly due to anxiety.  Every time one of us coughs, it sends a panic shock through the house (at least for me).  The worries cause tension, of course, and the age old question of "What should we have for dinner" is a little loaded because we can't/won't go out if we're missing an ingredient.  And I'm a crazy person, so when I see a recipe call for an ingredient I have in limited supply, I discard it because the thoughts "What if I want to use that ingredient later?!" overtake any rational ideas. Luckily, we do love trying new recipes and I have a whole enormous Pinterest board filled with ideas, which is where we found this one.  I actually pinned this one years ago, but today proved a perfect opportunity for it.  We had heavy cream in the house because we wanted to make a soup and I forgot how much we needed, so I bought the big carton and now we have leftover!  It actuall

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili

Another fantastic crockpot dish to add to the long list of ways to cook lazily.  My favorite type of cooking!  I prefer to prep, go to work, and come home to a house that smells like I don't have to do anything.  It's my favorite smell of all. Wow, this one is spicy.  We went to my cousin's annual pumpkin party, where there is always copious amounts of delicious food, and this year was no exception.  The hostess with the mostest made this chili and it was a big hit.  We quickly added it to our to-do list, and quickly learned a critical component. All jalapenos are different sizes! The original recipe calls for 5 jalapenos, but doesn't specify size and it DEFINITELY matters.  We used 3 large-ish jalapenos.  So be as bold or as cautious as you prefer.  I love spicy, Jeff does not.  That said, this was perfectly spicy for me, but it would still be delicious with significantly less heat.  Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili Adapted from here 1 medium onion, diced 3 me

Zuppa Toscana

This is the most delicious soup we've ever made, and we've made some great soups.  It sounds sinful with its bacon, its sausage, its cream, but don't worry, there's kale.  Kale is the miraculous ingredient that just erases any semblance of calories while not tasting bad itself.  Who knew all these people who have been blending it in smoothies and eating it on everything were onto something?  Here I've been living my life thinking it was only useful to line salad bars! Just kidding, yes, this has all sorts of delicious ingredients.  And they are worth every. single. bite. Zuppa Toscana Adapted from here 1lb ground Italian sausage 8 slices of bacon, diced 1 medium yellow onion, diced 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp dried parsley 1-1/2 tsp basil Salt & Pepper to taste 2 Tbsp flour or cornstarch 48oz chicken stock 4-5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 bunch of kale (leaves only) In