See how glorious? oooh boy!
Ok so grab a bowl and a fork and lets do this! (I do not use a mixer to make cookies, it tends to over whip them, but you do what you want. I am not the boss of you, I wouldn't want that job.)
1 stick of butter(not margarine). By the way none of my recipes contain margarine. Butter is the only way to go. It is the only way, ok? Butter makes the world a better place. Margarine only wishes it could be as cool, but it is an impostor and therefore has no place in my kitchen. This brings me to my second point which is none of my recipes are for dieters. Ok!
Put the room temperature stick of butter in the bowl and add:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
cream together then add
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla (Again I go for the pure vanilla bc like I said before I didn't like impostors like imitation vanilla.)
mix completely again and then add
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
mix completely then add
1 cup chocolate chips (I usually add a little more) Whats the harm?
once done cover and chill for a couple of hours or in your freezer for awhile or overnight. (I usually chill mine overnight bc it makes them turn out perfect every time) I can not stress this point enough folks, dough needs to be chilled, it's too soft after you make it to go straight in the oven. This is how cookies turn out flat. That and they don't have enough flour in them. If you notice this recipe is a lot like the toll house recipe but it has more flour and more sugar. Sugar helps the cookies have a little crunch on the edge and flour makes them denser. This recipe makes about 15 cookies. Double it if you want to use a whole bag of chips. I usually don't double mine bc we like fresh cookies right out the oven and don't need a lot of leftovers. Once the cookies are chilled preheat oven to 375 and ball the cookies into the size of a golf ball and place on pan (this may seem big but they turn out smaller than you think). i cook them 10 to 12 minutes. This will vary just cook until a little brown around the edges and a little on the top. do not overcook! They should have a little crust but mostly chewy and gooey and wonderfulness. If you make them let me know what you think!!
Spaghetti & Meatballs
These are the BEST meatballs in the world!
There are a lot of things I am eminently not qualified to comment on, this however is not one of them. I can guarantee you that when you make these you will love me even more than you do now. You are going to want to bring me cookies, cakes, chocolates, flowers (I like wildflowers and milk chocolate, in case you are writing this down)
Ok so lets get this show on the road!
You will need:
4 slices of bread
¼ cup Parmesan (the powder)
¼ cup of water
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tbs. Parsley
1 lb. hamburger meat
In a bowl tear the bread into small pieces, like so.
(Please try to ignore my photography skills)
Add the Parmesan, water, eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley. Than add 2 cloves of crushed garlic. (warning: I am in love with garlic, it is in almost all my main dishes-it must be fresh, and it must be crushed. This is mandatory)
Stir it all up with a fork until it looks like this
Then add in the meat. Note: You can use beef, or beef/pork or if you want to be healthy (which I would not advise) then you can use ground turkey. I just use beef.
Stir it all up again, till it looks like this
Then make into balls. I make mine golf ball size, but you can make them bigger or smaller depending on your preference.
Once this is done heat up a skillet or large pan to med/high or 350. I use an electric skillet. These babies are the best, I use it to cook a lot of things. A worthy investment. Brown the meatballs on all sides.
The meatballs wont be completely cooked through, but thats ok bc they will simmer for awhile.
Once this is done start on the sauce.
The sauce recipe is as follows
1 Jar Ragu Traditional. You can make your own sauce if you are super ambitious, but since I am not ambitious at all, I choose the jar. This one is the BEST, you can use Prego or Newman’s or some specialty sauce but this particular one is the only one I can endorse. I have tried others and they have just left me disappointed. Disappointed and alone. It was very traumatic, I would like to forget all about it.
Yummy!
Ok moving on, you will need
Another 2 cloves garlic crushed
¼ cup Parmesan (the powder)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. Oregano
Mix the above and set aside
Chop some green onions,add the green onions to the meatballs to cook them a little (you can add as many green onions as you want) I forgot to take a picture of this step, so you are on your own.
After they have cooked for a few minutes add the sauce mixture to the skillet. Stir gently to cover meatballs . Cover and let simmer a few hours or less. You can really cook it as long as you want. Or as little as you want.
mmmmmmmmmm! There are not words.
Ok I forgot to plate it and take a picture, instead I scarfed it down. I don't have a lot of patience. I did get a picture of the meatball I tried while the rest were simmering. Check it.....
On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed. Ahhh good times. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Rolls
Ok I was going to put the BEST cinnamon rolls as the title but it seems redundant. But these are the best. Those I have made them for have said they are better than their grandmothers, and their grandmothers, and so forth. So you see, you need to try them! Please don't let the fact that they have yeast in them scare you away. If I can make them anyone can. So lets face our fears. Here we go......
You will need:
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour
First add the yeast to the warm water, stir and set aside.
This allows for the yeast to start doing its thing. Make sure the water is between 120 and 130 degrees. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast and if its too cold the yeast wont grow. I promise this is the most complicated this recipe gets.
Take the cup of milk, 1/4 cup shortening, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. salt and heat it up in the microwave until the shortening almost melts. Take it out and stir till shortening melts completely. Add the mixture to 1 1/2 cups of flour. stir completely.
Then add in 1 egg, stir, add in yeast mixture, stir again, and add the remaining 2 cups of flour. Once stirred completely turn onto floured surface and knead in more flour if it feels sticky.
Knead for a few minutes and shape into a ball, place in greased bowl. Grease the top of the dough and place a towel over the bowl and let rise in warm place (i let mine rise in the oven that I have turned on to get warm and then turned off.) Makes sure the oven is off before you place the dough in there!
Let rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Once it has doubled in size punch it down and turn onto floured surface. Divide the dough in half, cover the dough again and let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes take half the dough and roll it out into a rectangle.
For filling you will need a stick of softened butter and sugar and cinnamon.
Take the softened butter and smear it all over the dough. Yes, with your hands!
Than add a layer of sugar and then sprinkle cinnamon all over, like so.
Roll up the rectangle long ways and cut the roll into 10 equal pieces. Place each roll into greased 9x9 circle or square pan or whatever you have.
Once you are done with this, repeat the steps with the other half of the dough. Once all the dough is in rolls cover the pans and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes in a warm place. I forgot to take a picture of this part, sorry bout that.
Here are some right out of oven! yummy!
Now for icing:
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla
add enough milk to reach a drizzle consistency.
You may need to make more, if you like a lot of icing like me.
Here we go....drizzle over top and dig in! These are so delicious and yummy! These take me to my happy place. Try them!
This is a great recipe for the cold winter months. It is hearty and delicious! I never grew up liking stew at all, but this recipe is awesome. It is easy to make and so very flavorful, you will never see stew the same way. It's a must try!
You will need
1 to 2 lb chuck tender steak
3 to 4 slices bacon
3 carrots
2 potatoes
fresh green beans
1/2 of a yellow onion
4 cups of beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoons parsley
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
Start by cutting up the meat and vegetables.
Feel free to add more meat and vegetables than what I have above. I don't really measure how much I put in, but the above is my best guess. I usually put in a couple handfuls of fresh green beans, and a couple handfuls of cut up baby carrots. If you use the big carrots, I would use two to three. Also I use three thick slices of bacon or 4 regular slices for this dish.
Place the cut up slices of bacon in a pot or dutch oven over med. high heat with a little oil so the bacon doesn't stick. Did I mention this is not low-fat? Don't be skeered....
Cook the bacon until done and transfer to paper towels, it will come back into play later.
Leave two tablespoons of bacon grease in the pot and save the rest for the next step. Then throw in the cut up meat. Sear the meat on all sides and remove to a plate. It does not need to be cooked through.
Once the steak has been removed, lower the temp to medium and there should still be some grease and juices from cooking the meat at the bottom of the pan, if not add two more tablespoons to saute the vegetables. Then throw in the carrots, onions, and green beans. Cook until the onions are translucent. About five minutes.
Once they are cooked add the two tablespoons of butter and let melt. Then add the 5 tablespoons of flour and stir. It will turn into a paste around the vegetables.
Next add in the beef broth and stir. Then add in the two tablespoons of tomato paste. Once these are stirred in add back the meat and its juices, add the garlic, italian seasoning, bay leaf, and parsley. At this point put on the lid and either cook it on the stove over medium heat or stick it in the oven on 325 degrees for
1 1/2 hours.
After 1 1/2 hours add the cut up potatoes, then either put back in oven or on stove for 45 more minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Here it is in all its goodness! Yum!
Then get you a big ol' helping and sprinkle the bacon bits on top! I also add a little salt and pepper. So So Good!
I serve this with either rolls, or garlic cheddar biscuits, or yummy cornbread. I will give you those recipes another day.
*Do not use stew meat in this dish, stew meat is tough and chewy. I use chuck tender steak which you can find at walmart, or you could use sirloin or any other tender cut of meat. You will not regret it. Also if you can add just about any vegetable...celery, mushrooms, etc. Try this as soon as possible it will make your winter a little more bearable!
