Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Double- Chocolate Dream Cookies


I've made these cookies several times. I've never been a big fan of chocolate cookies, but these are really, really good. I got the recipe off a bag of Nestle Toll House chocolate chips.

Double-Chocolate Dream Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Baking Cocoa (I use dark cocoa because it makes it more chocolate-y.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz pkg) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (Last night I used mint dark chocolate chips, and they were delicious.)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are puffed. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

I usually get 26-30 cookies from one batch.

I've also tried adding a cup of dried cherries to the recipe, but I think I would like strawberries better. I also think caramel or peanut butter chips would be yummy too.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Romano Ranch Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner

I got this recipe from Picky-Palate. I made a lot of changes to it when I made it though. I pan fried my chicken instead of baking it. I also used a red bell pepper instead of a green one. I only used half the onion, which was plenty. I didn't add the can of peas and carrots. And I just used garlic powder instead of the Lawry's garlic salt with parsley.

I really liked this recipe. When I make it again I will use a roasted red bell pepper. When Patrick took the leftovers to work, his co-worker commented on how good it looked. Sorry I didn't get a picture of it.


Romano Ranch Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 packet Ranch Dressing dry mix, divided

1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil (what I used) or you can also use veg oil

1 large onion, finely diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

6 cloves fresh garlic, minced

6 Cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

1 small can diced carrots and peas, drained

2 Cups steamed long grain brown rice (I cooked mine in a rice cooker)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley

1/2 Cup shredded Romano Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chicken breasts into small baking dish and sprinkle half of the ranch packet over each breast. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in large skillet with high rimmed edges over medium heat. Saute onion, bell pepper, garlic and spinach until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in can of carrots and peas then stir in cooked rice, season with salt, pepper and garlic salt.

3. With a knife dice each chicken breast into small cubes and add into rice mixture. Sprinkle remaining ranch seasoning mix and romano cheese into rice. Reduce heat to low; taste and season as needed. Now you are ready to serve.

4 servings

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I made these taquitos the other night and they were REALLY yummy. I got the recipe from Our Best Bites. I love that site. :)The picture is also from that site.

When I made them, I used red salsa instead of green and I didn't put in the cilantro. I also made them with both corn and flour tortillas and I really liked them both. Patrick and I couldn't decide which we liked best. They are really easy and fast to make. I haven't tried this, but you could probably make a whole bunch and freeze them for later use.




Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.