Best Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend  Rebecca made these cookies when her family had us over for a Sunday dessert.  We all fell in love with them and they are now the only chocolate chip cookies I make.  Found on Allrecipes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Parmesan Twists

My kids loved these...quick and easy to make. I found them in Real Simple magazine which I love.

Ingredients

• 1 17.25-ounce package thawed puff pastry
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 400° F.

Cut the puff pastry lengthwise into 24 strips. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and seeds (if using) and twist.

Place on 2 baking sheets. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

I actually liked them cooled down also. MMMMMMM

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Another Real Simple recipe...again...soooo good!
Season chicken with salt and pepper; dip in beaten egg, then bread crumbs. In batches, cook in olive oil over medium heat until golden. Pour 1-24 ounce jar marinara sauce in a large, shallow baking dish; top with the chicken, then one pound of fresh mozzarella. Bake at 400 degrees until golden, 25-30 minutes.

Mexican Meatball Soup

Made this soup last night for dinner....DELISH!! I found the recipe in Real Simple and altered it a bit.

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 c chopped chives
1c crushed tortilla chips
1/3 c chopped, fresh cilantro
1T taco seasoning
salt and pepper
3 c fresh salsa
3 t chicken base
1 avocado cut into small pieces


Mix turkey, chives, tortilla chips, cilantro, taco seasoning, salt and pepper and form into balls. Place on cookie sheet and broil about 8 minutes.
In blender puree the salsa with one cup water and chicken base. Put mixture into saucepan with an additional 2c water and bring to boil. Add meatballs, reduce heat and simmer for a couple minutes. Serve with avocado, cilantro, and tortilla chips. YUMMY!!

Curried Chicken

1/2 pound chicken breasts cubed
1 med. tart apple, peeled and cubed
1 small onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T water
2 t curry powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1 T flour
1 c sour cream
4 cups cooked rice

Cook chicken in skillet. Remove chicken and cook apples, onions, and garlic until tender. Return chicken to pan and sprinkle with curry and cinnamon. Combine flour and sour cream until smooth then stir into chicken mix. Bring to boil and continue stirring for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Easy and Quick Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

Directions

1. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
2. Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Banana Pudding

Ingredients
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
dash of salt
2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 (14-ounce) can of fat free sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups sliced ripe bananas
45 reduced fat vanilla wafers
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

Instructions
Combine flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually stir in milks and yolks, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 8 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Arrange 1 cup banana slices in bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Spoon one third pudding mixture over bananas; top with 15 vanilla wafers. Repeat layers twice, ending with pudding;arrange remaining 15 wafers around inside edge of dish. Gently push wafers into pudding.

Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add suger, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar disolves (2-4 minutes). Spread meringue over pudding, sealing to edge of dish.

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or uni=til golden. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.