Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A normal title for a "normal" recipe. Actually, this comes from my (Thomas') mother's arsenal and is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I know of. We often would double or quadruple it, as a single batch only makes about 40 (forty). And yes, I can end a sentence in a preposition and be grammatically correct. And yes, I can start a sentence with "and"... :D

On to the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1C shortening
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 T vanilla (liberally)
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
2 eggs
2 C flour (may take up to 1/4 C more)
12 oz. Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven
  2. Mix all the ingredients excepting the flour
  3. Add flour (more if it is extremely sticky)
  4. Roll into 1.5 inch balls
  5. Put into preheated oven. Bake at 375° for 4-5 minutes or until they look like slightly doughy cookies (but have flattened out into the shape of cookies)
  6. Take out (and don't let the bottoms get more than light brown)
  7. Let cool a bit
  8. Test (i.e. taste), varying cook time accordingly
(Mmmmm...Crisco!)

(Eggs, sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla...)

(Cookie dough sans chocolat)

(After the addition of Ingredient X)

(Dough ready to be incinerated)

(Some of the final product)

And, as a bonus, Lisa has assembled ice cream sandwiches. Try them out!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Louisiana Home Cookin'

Thanks to Thomas' dad, Jeff, we got to enjoy some Cajun CJ's Jambalaya last week.


Back in March, when Jeff drove from Florida to Utah for some business, our wedding, etc., he happened upon some dry Cajun Jambalaya mixes at a gas station convenience store (I think). Trusting the good reports of the locals, he picked up a package of the Jambalaya mix and the Gumbo mix and let us choose one. I decided we'd try the Jambalaya!


It was so easy to put together. The package had two packets of ingredients and instructions that were simple to follow. I was impressed to find a sticker referencing John 14:6.

We started out sauteeing some sausage and ground beef with the packet of spices. It smelled so good!


Next, we added water and the larger packet of rice and additional spices. This simmered for a while and dinner was ready!


We enjoyed our Jambalaya with some corn on the cob. The Jambalaya was a rich blend of spices, meat, and rice. I don't really know how to describe its taste but I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested!


oxox

Chocolate Goodness in a Pan

Ok, people. We hope you're sitting down.

We are about to share with you the recipe for one of our favorite treats. It is easy, intriguing, and delicious. After reading this, you may want to make some just to know for yourself. Don't say we didn't warn you.


Chocolate Pudding Cake (serves 4)

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup boiling water

  1. Preheat the oven to 350* F. Combine the first group of ingredients (flour through vanilla) and mix well. You may want to combine the dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients.
  2. Spread this batter into a baking dish (ungreased). A 9*9 works pretty well; we doubled the recipe and used a 9*12. It's sticky, but try to get it to cover the bottom of your chosen dish.
  3. In another bowl, combine the other ingredients (sugar through water). Pour this over the cake batter; take note that your cake batter is on the bottom, and the pudding is on the top.
  4. Bake for about 30 minutes (you can use a toothpick to test for doneness). 
  5. When you take it out, notice that *magically* your cake is on the TOP and your pudding is on the BOTTOM! WHAT?! Yes. It is true.
  6. Let cool for a few minutes and serve. It's better with ice cream!!
 (dry cake ingredients)

(cake batter)

(dry pudding ingredients)

 (everything in the pan)

 (right out of the oven in all its glory!)

(behold the magic...)

(complete with ice cream and some dark chocolate candy pieces...)

It really is delicious - but we hope you don't take our word for it!
oxox

Monday, May 3, 2010

American Chinese Food: It's What's For Dinner

We are proud to present, after a few weeks' hiatus, a delightful meal that we highly recommend to our readers: Fried rice with homemade egg rolls. This is even good for leftovers and quite cheap, so make plenty and save money.



Homemade Egg Rolls (makes 24)

Wrapper Ingredients
2 C flour
1 egg
1t salt
1/2 C ice water

  1. Pour flour into a bowl.
  2. Beat egg and salt in a second bowl. Mix 1/4 C ice water into egg mixture.
  3. Add egg mixture to flour along with the remainder of ice water. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Knead dough for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  5. Cover the dough and let sit for 30 minutes (you can work on the egg roll innards while waiting).
  6. Knead the dough briefly, then divide into 24 equal parts.
  7. Roll each part into 3 to 4 inch squares.
  8. Stack them with a thin dusting of cornstarch between to prevent them from sticking.



Egg rolls
24 egg roll wrappers
1/2 head of cabbage, in small pieces
10-15 baby carrots, grated
2 chicken breasts, diced
pepper
salt
garlic powder
ginger
soy sauce
oil

  1. Fry chicken in oil along with pepper, salt, garlic powder, ginger, and soy sauce.
  2. Mix the cabbage and carrots in a bowl.
  3. Lay out wrapper. Fill it with about two spoons of vegetables and a few pieces of chicken, then wrap it up.
  4. Fry each egg roll in oil, using tongs to turn and remove them as they begin to brown. Don't cook them beyond a golden brown.






Fried Rice
rice
2-3 eggs
peas
soy sauce

  1. Cook rice as normal.
  2. Begin to fry rice. Add copious amounts of soy sauce.
  3. Mix in eggs and peas.
  4. Let simmer for a few minutes.




There you have it: a simple yet delightful meal. Bon appetit!