Chocoate Chip Cookies + New Oven!

That's right, I have a new oven!!! After a year of baking frustrations, my life has gotten much, much better! We have had an oven thermometer for a while, and noticed that our oven at it's best tends to be about 50 degree's cooler than what we set it for. At it's worst, the oven's temperature will fluctuate from 75 degree's too cool, to 20 degree's too hot; all in one baking cycle.

After complaining to our apartment manager (yes our apartment, we are young newly weds after all!) and a visit from our very friendly maintenance technician, we found out that some internal sensor was broken. We were also told that the oven was too old to find replacement parts for, and that we should get a new oven.

We tried to talk to the manager several times with no luck, that is, until yesterday! While at work, Greg received a call from them with the best news, "We have an oven in stock for you, can they come over right now to install it"? Luckily, I have Thursdays off. With in 5 minutes the old piece of junk was gone and the brand new, clean, digital oven, with a window was installed! It was time to celebrate/test out this new toy.


First, I thought about making something fussy and fancy. Then I thought, why not go for something classic that will let me know right away if this oven is any good? The obvious answer: Chocolate Chip Cookies! I must say, I forgot how wonderful it is to bake each batch of cookies for the same amount of time, and have them all turn out the same! Standardization, what a concept! With my old oven we had to check each batch every 3 minutes...what a pain.

And so, without further ado, the classic chocolate chip cookie. No real modifications here, just a bit more flour and vanilla. This is essentially the Nestle recipe, but almost all of these recipes are the same.

Recipe:

3 C. Flour
3/4 C. brown sugar, packed
3/4 C. white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 C. butter, softened
12oz bag chocolate chips (I love mine very chocolaty)

-Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs and vanilla.

-Add flour, sat & baking soda, mix to combine

-Add chocolate chips

-Chill dough for at least 30 mintues

-Spoon out dough in 1 tbs balls, about an inch and a half apart on a baking sheet

-Bake for 8 minutes 30 seconds at 375 degrees. (yes that is specific, but I found that 8 minutes left them too soft, even after cooling on the baking sheet, and 9 minutes left them a bit too dark).

-Enjoy!!!

p.s. I promise next time to post a non-dessert!

Rich Fudgy Brownies

Well, a Fine Cooking recipe has come through yet again! These are my new favorite brownies, without a doubt. If you like a more cakey brownie, these are not for you. These are even more addicting than the Brownies with m&m's and Peanut Butter! The two recipes are strikingly similar, and so it was very fun to see how the slight differences really changed the outcome.

One of the components of Fine Cooking that I love is all of the pictures. I was able to compare my brownies to the published great looking magazine shot. After following the recipe perfecting (yes I know...), my brownies rose about double what the picture shows. I'm really not sure why that would be, but the flavor was still great. Greg and I decided that we could make wonderful ice cream sandwiches using these if we were to press these down while in the pan, pour soft ice cream on top, and then put another layer of pressed brownies on the ice cream and freeze. Hm...yum.


Recipe:
1 C. butter
2/3 C. flour
2 C. sugar
4 eggs, room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

-Mix all dry ingredients together, set aside.

-Melt butter. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients (takes a while for it to get incorporated).

-Pour batter into a greased 9x9 baking pan

-Bake for 40 mintues at 350 degrees.

-Enjoy!!!

French Lentil Soup

We've had another "fall" like day (but tomorrow should be 81). I made this soup up last night with the plan of eating left overs today and tomorrow. When I first had a bowl, it was OK, but after sitting overnight all of the flavors came out, and it was quiet good! I also made some frocacia bread, from my Cafe Paradiso cook book (thanks Rebecca!) to go along with.

I found the recipie on epicurious. Many of the reviews stated that the soup was bland, until they added lots of seasoning. That's my cue to play with the recipe as much as possible! Okay, well I really didn't change too much. I doubled the amount of onion to be cooked down, and added thyme, rosemary, oregano, a bay leaf and basil. Herbs de Provence would make a very nice substitute as well.

For our next day meal, we noticed that all of the liquid had been absorbed by the lentils, making this more of a mush. It still had a nice texture, and would go over rice or in a pita really well. We also thought that this tasted very much like a beef stew that my paternal Grandmother makes, adoringly called "Grandma's Stew". Her stew also contains parsnips, which I plan on putting in the next time I make this. Also, I think that cubed beef, venison, or bison would make a great addition for all of the omnivores out there.

All in all, we are pleased with this soup/stew/mush. Like the Pumpkin Pasta, it might not look that great, but it tastes wonderful and is very satisfying.

Recipe:

1 1/4 C. dry lentils
4 C. chicken broth
1 C. chopped carrots
2 C. chopped celery
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
15 oz can diced tomatoes, plain
4-5 gloves garlic, smashed
2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

-Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat with garlic and seasonings
-Add chopped veggies, stir to coat. Cover and let cook until the onions are transparent, about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Add tomato, lentils and chicken broth, bring to a boil
-Cover and bring down to a simmer. Simmer until lentils are cooked, 35-45 minutes
-Remove bay leaf
-Blend part of the soup with a stick blender or a traditional blender/food processor. If using a traditional method, return blended soup to the stock pot and stir to combine.
-Serve warm, plain or over rice.
-Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Pasta

Even if it might be 80 degrees outside, it is fall! This is one of my favorite comfort foods. It sounds interesting, and looks interesting, but let me assure you that it is wonderful. We saw this recipe in a Rachel Ray cook book, titled Pumpkin Cauliflower Pasta. I like pasta, squash, and cauliflower, so I thought "why not". There are a decent number of flavors going on here, and it tastes like it would be more difficult to make than it really is.

Over time, we've changed the herbs/spices we use and the portions of ingredients. The recipe calls for chicken broth. We've tried both vegetable broth and water, but they just don't add near as much flavor, so chicken broth it is. I've used both parmesan and feta cheeses, and a combo of both (depending on what is in the fridge). The original recipe calls for heavy cream. We started by using skim milk instead, and lately we've just been leaving that out all together. The pumpkin puree really makes a nice texture for the sauce.

I know we've served this to guests before, and I'm sure we'll serve it to more people for years to come.

8 oz whole wheat pasta
1/2 C. pumpkin puree
1/4 C. parmesan cheese
1 C. Chicken broth or liquid of choice
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets, or 1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower, thawed (but the florets in the bags tend to be a bit too big)
2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

-Bring water a to a boil. Cook pasta as directed

-While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme. Cook for about 2 minutes.

-Add cauliflower. Stir to coat with oil. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

-Once pasta is cooked, drain & return to stock pot. The cauliflower should be done soon. Once the cauliflower is done, pour into the pasta. Add pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground pepper, salt and parmesan. Stir to combine. Serve warm.

-Enjoy!

Creamy Polenta with Veggies and Red Kidney Beans

Over a week with no posts, goodness! This past week has been crazy, with addition of the latest niece to expand our family. Greg and I have been busy spending time with her, her parents, and the rest of the family which came down to visit. So I must confess, we made this meal about a week and a half ago, and we have been pleasantly distracted since then =).

If you are wondering if those veggies are yet more frozen veggies, then you would be correct. I really enjoy this particular bag. On top of the obvious broccoli and cut carrots, it contains black eyed peas, garbanzo/chick peas, snap peas & cauliflower. Two years ago on a trip home to Ann Arbor, my family ate at at the Quarter Bistro. I ordered a wonderfully spicy vegetable minestrone. We joked that I just have gotten the last of the pot, because it seemed like there were at least 4 cups of minestrone in my "bowl". We took the left overs home, and my Mom made grilled polenta, and then spooned the re-heated soup on top. It was so delicious. This is my quick attempt at mimicking the dish.

To add flavor to the veggies and beans, I started by cooking the beans in water with bay leafs, oregano, basil, rosemary, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Once they were mostly cooked, I added the veggies until they were warm. We put cheddar cheese on the polenta once it was done, and that helped keep the texture creamy. I think a stronger flavored cheese would work much better. A little asiago would have really gone along way!The whole process took about 10 minutes. I'm sure if the veggies had simmered longer they flavors would have been more full. But, for a done in 10 minutes meal, this was pretty hard to beat. If anything, the next day left overs were better than the first day. The polenta's texture had changed since it was allowed to sit, but the flavor was still good.

Recipe:

Veggie Mixture:
1 15oz can red kidney beans
8oz frozen veggies
shredded cheddar
1 C. water
1 1/2 tsp each of: rosemary, basil, oregano, cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves

Polenta:
1 C. water
1 C. corn meal or polenta
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper

-Bring 1 C. water to a boil. Add drained and rinsed kidney beans. reduce to a high simmer. Cook until just about tender and warmed through. Add the veggies. Continue cooking until the veggies have heated through. Drain and set aside.

- While the beans and veggies are cooking, bring the 1 C. water to a boil. Slowly pour in the corn meal or polenta while whisking. Whisk until any large clumps have dissolved. Serve warm and creamy or pour into a 9x13 and cover with plastic wrap to set.

-Serve the polenta while warm and creamy, top with a bit of cheese. Place veggies and beans on top of cheese.

- Enjoy!!!

Chicken with Spinach and Barley

Part two of thrifty tasty eating! For this dish we only had to buy chopped frozen spinach. Pretty thrifty! There was not really a recipe that inspired us to make this, just a hunch that everything would work well together once it was all cooked. I stir fried the chicken in my Tuscan Sunset mix from Penzey's, and added a lot of rosemary and garlic. I saw a tip on a health blog, that smashing your garlic and letting it sit for 15 minutes before cooking helps to release healthy compounds that are good for your heart. We did that this time, too. Well, even if that's bogus, the wonderfully mellow flavor that resulted is worth the 15 minute wait! Once everything was cooked and combined, I added a small handful of mozzarella cheese to help bind it all together. The end result was very flavorful dish with an excellent creamy texture, much like risotto, much healthier, and much less time consuming!

We ate this as a main, though I think it would probably be better as a side. For leftovers, I put this in a whole wheat pita and ate it cold. That was also spectacular! If I make this as a side, I'll probably leave the chicken out and just cook the spinach down in the same seasonings. Either way, we'll definitely be making this one again!

Recipe:

3 chicken tenders, thawed out & cut into bite size pieces
1/2 block of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 C. uncooked barley of choice
2 or 3 cloves of garlic (I used 3 but they were on the small side)
1 tsp tuscan seasoning (italian would be fine too, but I would add some red pepper flakes)
1 tsp rosemary
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 small handful (not even 1/4 C.) shredded mozzarella cheese

-Set water to boil for barley. Start cooking.
-Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Add oil to a large pan and heat to medium high. Add the tuscan seasoning, rosemary, and garlic. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Stir frequently for even cooking.
-While the chicken is cooking, thaw out the spinach.
-When the chicken is mostly cooked through, add the spinach. Cover and turn down the heat. Let the spinach cook and wilt while the chicken cooks all of the way through.
-When the barley is cooked, add that to the chicken mixture along with the mozzarella
-Stir to combine.

-Enjoy!!!

Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Orzo and Veggies

This month Greg and I are trying to eat "thrifty", yet good. We found that if we plan out meals we end up spending less, and so we planned out as many meals as we could from ingredients that we have on hand. We almost always have everything needed for this recipe, and we put it at the top of our list!

I made this once before when Greg had an evening off, and it turned out really well. This version of Parmesan Chicken is also the light version. There is no dredging the chicken in egg or melted butter, no pan frying, and light on the breading. Since all of those removed steps/ingredients add so much flavor, I added the zest of one whole lemon along with sea salt to compensate. And, instead of serving over spaghetti, we chose whole wheat orzo with a nice vegetable medley. We've been using frozen veggies more lately. I know that everything is in season right now, but the frozen mixes are just so affordable while allowing a great variety of veggies with absolute minimal prep time. Next year, we will have to have some sort of garden so we won't have to buy veggies, and then drive home to prep; we'll just walk out onto our patio!

But anyway, this is pretty tasty. The lemon makes it feel like a summer dish, but for the fall I might want to skip on the zest, and then serve it over roasted sweet potato or a winter squash. Yum. It's also a very fast recipe, since the chicken tenders only take about 20 minutes to cook.

Recipe:

3-4 Chicken tenders, thawed
3 TBS each of flour, corn meal, and parmesan cheese
1 C. frozen veggies
1/2 box whole wheat orzo
marinara sauce to taste
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
extra virgin olive oil

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Mix the flour, corn meal, parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper together
-Rub flour mixture onto chicken tenders
-Bake the chicken tenders on a greased baking sheet or pan for about 20 minutes or until cooked
-While the chicken is cooking, boil orzo as directed. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the frozen veggies. Drain and toss with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and marinara sauce to taste.
-Serve chicken on top of pasta and veggies, top with a bit of mozzarella.

-Enjoy!!!