Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies

For some reason I have always loved Snickerdoodle cookies.  For some reason, I think part of what makes them so good is the cream of tartar.   They are simple, delicious, and coated with cinnamon sugar....what's not to love?  It got me thinking that they might taste good if there was a chocolate version.  Evidently I am the last to know that there are a ton of chocolate snickerdoodle recipes out there!  and, they are indeed delicious. 

Here are your ingredients:

Cream together:         1 1/2 c. sugar
                                   1/2 c. butter, softened
                                   1 tsp. vanilla

Now add:                   2 eggs

Once blended, add the dry ingredients (try not to over-mix the dough!):

                                   2 1/4 c. flour
                                   1 tsp. cream of tartar
                                   1/2 tsp. baking soda
                                   1/4 tsp. salt
                                   1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa

In a small bowl, combine:

                2 tbsp. sugar
                2 tsp. cinnamon




















Shape the dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until set.  Remove from the cookie sheets as soon as they come out of the oven.

These cookies are are so crunchy and sweet and the combination of the cinnamon and chocolate together?  Oh my word...... delicious!

Really delicious risotto.....again!

Anyone who follows me knows a few key things that I love, one being a one pan meal.  I love to build a dinner that has all the food groups represented... and tonight is no exception!  Ham, asparagus, risotto, artichokes and a little Parmesan to round it off....  I'm telling you, though, tonight, I got the flavors spot on!  I hope I can replicate the creation... it was a lot of "a little of this and a pinch of that."  Here goes:

1 cup of risotto

4 cups of chicken broth

1 tbs dried onion

Sliced ham

olive oil

artichoke hearts

½ of a large shallot chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

spinach

roasted asparagus

Parmesan cheese

Fresh thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

This time I don't have any step by step photos, but follow along with the narrative and it will come out great!  Begin by melting a tablespoon of butter, a sprinkling of dried onion,  and a splash of olive oil in a pan.  Add 1 cup of risotto and cook for about 10 minutes.  Just when it starts to lightly brown, begin adding your chicken broth, one cup at a time.  Simmer and stir until the broth has been absorbed, then add another cup.  Keep going until 4 cups of broth have been absorbed.  I had about 2 handfuls of fresh spinach left over, so I chopped it up and folded it into the hot risotto.  Turn off the heat and set aside.  

Time to get the rest of your ingredients ready.  The asparagus needs to be roasted with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, turning them about half way through.

When done, cut into 1 inch pieces and add to the risotto.  Cut up about 6-8 slices of ham and add in.

I also added approximately 1 cup of artichoke hearts, cut up, but honestly?  Who ever measures artichoke hearts?  The more the merrier!  I also added about a tablespoon of fresh thyme.  I thought it needed something else, so I cut up 4 cloves of garlic and half of a large shallot and sauteed them in a little butter.  You can add in your salt and pepper to the onions.  Once they are translucent, I add them in.  

Last but not least, a healthy sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and my life is complete.   A masterpiece!  This one was a true keeper!  The flavor of the roasted asparagus, combined with the ham, thyme and shallot/garlic mixture was amazing...

My newest creation...Pork Tenderloin stuffed with potatoes!

As you can tell by looking at my blog, I love to make different renditions of stuffed pork tenderloin.  Most of them have a bread or breadcrumb base, so this time I really wanted to try something different.   I love serving pan-roasted potatoes with pork and thought why not put the potatoes in the pork instead of along side?  Read on and you'll see what a great idea this was!

My ingredients are:

2 Pork Tenderloins, butterflied and pounded out

5-6 New Potatoes

Kale

1 onion, chopped

approximately 2 cups roughly chopped mushrooms

Garlic

Fresh Thyme

Dill

Salt and pepper to taste

2 slices of Panchetta, diced and cooked

I begin to build my stuffing by cooking the potatoes.  You want to remove them from the water when they about ¾ cooked.  Run under cold water.  Dice them up and set aside in a bowl.  

Grab a fry pan and cook up the onion and garlic.  Add your chopped kale and continue cooking until the kale has wilted.  Sprinkle in about a teaspoon each of dill and thyme.  Once the stuffing is done, taste again in case you need to add more.

As each ingredient is finished cooking, combine in your bowl.  I add the mushrooms without cooking them.  Once you stuff and bake the tenderloin, the mushrooms will have cooked just enough.

While your stuffing is resting, you can prepare the pork.  Butterfly each tenderloin and pound flat.  Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and place your stuffing down the middle.

Now the fun part.... roll up as best you can, trying to tuck all the stuffing in as you roll.  Use some cooking twine and tie it together.

Now brown the tenderloins in a nice hot fry pan so you can get that brown coating.  Place both tenderloins in a roasting pan and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

I drizzled the tops with a little Caesar Dressing, but feel free to get creative.  You could make a sauce with a little olive oil, Dijon mustard, a splash of white wine and some tarragon and use that instead.  

Now, I like to serve my tenderloin while it is a little pink, but if you prefer it well done, let it stay in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. 

I roasted some haricot vert to have along with it.  So delicious!

Stovetop Pasta Casserole

This is such a "me" dish.....throw a whole bunch of ingredients you find in your fridge in a pan, cook up a little pasta, use up some left over sauce, and voila!  Yumminess all in one pan.

So, here's what I found to use this time:

½ yellow pepper

1 Vidalia onion

a box of baby kale

cherry tomatoes
Pine nuts

kalamata olives

sweet Italian sausage (of course!)
Crushed red pepper
basil
garlic
Parmesan cheese

left over pasta sauce (see the recipe below)

Here's a quick recap of the great pasta sauce.   Simmer 1 can of stewed tomatoes, 1 stick of butter and 1 whole Vidalia onion cut up, along with 4-5 smashed cloves of garlic for about 30 minutes.  When the onion is nice and tender, use a hand blender or food processor and puree.  Add salt and pepper to taste along with some Parmesan cheese.  That is it!  Pure tomato flavor....

Back to my creation..... After the onion and peppers are beginning to get tender, I throw in the cut-up kale and let that wilt.  While the wilting is going on,  cook up your sausage meat.  When it is all cooked, start a bowl of "ingredients."

I think I'll cook the pasta next.  While that is cooking, I cut up my cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives and throw them in the bowl.  I never cook the tomatoes when I make one of these meals.  I hate it when the tomatoes are mushy, so by adding them uncooked, the heat of the dish will make them just right.

Here's what the ingredients look like so far...

Once the pasta is cooked, I throw that in, along with some shredded Parmesan cheese.  I now start to build my flavors.  I decided to sprinkle in some basil, a little garlic powder (because I didn't taste enough garlic flavor from the fresh garlic I added), a little crushed red pepper, and some salt and pepper.  That's it.  Everything else speaks for itself!

The only thing left is a sauce to tie it all together.  This time, I had some leftover home made tomato sauce in the fridge and thought it would be a great way to use it up!  Once all of this is mixed together, I put it back on the stove to heat up.  One last ingredient that is purely something that I chose to do, was to add a small amount of Caesar dressing, only because I happen to like a little creaminess to these dishes, but please feel free to use your own discretion.  If you're not sure how it will taste, put a small amount of the pasta in a small bowl and add a little and mix in!  If you agree that it makes it yummy, go ahead and add it to the pasta...

Here it is...another "me dish."  I tried to make it as healthy as possible.  Feel free to substitute things such as ground turkey instead of sausage, or any other vegetable that you love.  I guarantee it will come out delicious.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup with a touch of Curry

I have always loved butternut squash soup, but decided to see if I could change it just a little without losing the delicious squash flavor.  Carrots have always been the great secret ingredient I have added to my tomato soup and pasta sauces because they add just a little sweetness along with their flavor.  Sometimes it's nice to have actual small chunks of squash in the soup, so if you would like, reserve some squash to add in once you have pureed the soup.  I decided to add not only carrots, but also onions and a little curry.  And, as for the milk or cream, I have used Coconut milk in the past, so feel free to use whatever works for you and/or your diet.  You will definitely love the way it comes out!

Here are the ingredients:

Butternut squash, cut up

Carrots (about two cups) 

Onion ( about one cup)

2 boxes of chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

half and half (I used fat free) (about 1 cup)

Curry to taste

With a half stick of butter or a spoonful of margarine, cook the squash, carrots and onion for about 10-15 minutes, or until they begin to soften. I like to add the curry at this point as well so it gets a head start at developing that unbelievable flavor.  Curry is like chili powder.  You really have to cook it for a while before you get the full flavor.   Pour in the chicken broth and simmer for about 30 minutes

Once the vegetables are tender, pour in your half and half and either use your stick blender or a food processor to puree.  Time to add your salt and pepper and make sure there is enough curry flavor.

Leftover Grilled Steak Tips? Make Steak Stew!

This has got to be, by far, one of the best "beef stews" I have made!  I'm not sure if it is because I used left over grilled steak tips for the beef, or the fact that I didn't mask any of the flavors with lots of herbs and spices.  You'll have to be the judge, but I highly recommend you use a really nice, perfectly cooked beef.  There's nothing worse than having beef stew where the meat is really tough and dry!

Here is your list of ingredients:

Beef (I highly recommend a really 

flavorful, tender meat) no measurement needed!!

2 tbs flour

2 tbs butter

2 tbs cornstarch

olive oil

carrots

celery

onion

garlic

shallots

red potatoes

½ cup barley

at least 6 cups of beef broth

Start by cutting up the veggies (these measurements are approximations - use whatever you would like!:

1-2 cups sliced Carrots

1-2 cups sliced Celery

½-1 cup chopped Onion

½ cup chopped Shallot
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

Bundle together some fresh Thyme and Sage and drop into the pan.

Cut up about 6-8 red potatoes and add those.

Once everything begins to get tender, add at least 6 cups of beef broth

In a small pan, melt 2 tbs of butter and blend in 2 tbs of flour, so that it becomes a paste.  Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from the heat.  Whisk in 1 cup of beef broth.   This will make a thick mixture... put this aside.

I cut up all of my leftover grilled steak tips and added them to my veggies, along with about 5 cups of beef broth.  Please feel free to add more broth if you need a larger quantity of soup!  Simmer this for about 40 minutes.  At this point, take some of the broth and add to the flour/butter mixture you put aside.  Then, slowly add back into the soup.  Stir until combined and add ½ cup of barley.  Cover and continue cooking.

Check on the stew every 20 minutes or so.  If you like really thick stew, combine about 2 tbs of cornstarch with a little water and slow stir into your stew.  Under higher heat, it should thicken up immediately.  If not, turn your stove up a little until it is the thickness you like.

And now the best part?  Taste.  It might need a little salt and pepper, but that is about it.  A real "stick-to-your-ribs" stew!

Stuffed Zucchini - Vegetarian Style

As you can tell from my posts, I am not exactly what you'd call a "vegetarian" cook... i.e. so many recipes call for Italian sausage, or pork tenderloin, etc.!  A friend of my daughters is vegetarian and has come over for dinner on several different occasions, so I have had to come up with some meatless dishes.  I have to say, this one came out really yummy and I finally made something without pasta!

All the ingredients were things I had on hand:

½ a Vidalia onion, chopped

a handful of mushrooms, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbs butter

2 Zucchini

roasted red peppers

cherry tomatoes

cheese for the topping

croutons

shredded cheese

Parmesan cheese

olive oil

basil

salt and pepper

Chop up your onion, mushrooms and garlic.  Slice the zucchini lengthwise and with a melon baller or spoon, scrape out a "trough" down the center.  Set the scrapings aside as they will go into the stuffing.

Saute the onion and garlic in a small amount of butter.  When they become transparent, add the mushrooms and the scrapings from your zucchini.

Time to throw in a handful of croutons and about ½ cup of some sort of shredded cheese. 

The croutons will absorb the extra liquid.  Sprinkle in some dried basil, salt and pepper, and a little Parmesan cheese.

I began with a slice of roasted red pepper....

Next I add the stuffing, followed by the cherry tomatoes....

Now, I had this really yummy basil and garlic cheese that I sliced and put on top, but please feel free to use whatever you have on hand (anything except American cheese!  I think that would ruin the flavor!)

Pop into a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.

This was absolutely delicious as is, but I think it would be interesting if you got a bit adventurous and drizzled the tops with either some kind of pasta sauce or even a little bit of Caesar dressing...go for it!

As with all of my meals, I hope you know that you can always substitute or eliminate ingredients if you don't have them.  As long as you use the herbs/garlic/onion/crouton mixture (which are the basic flavors), you could add meat , different cheeses, or other veggies....absolutely.  Experiment!