Cathy' Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like many of you, I have made dozens of chocolate chip cookies. They are favorites of nearly everyone and you'd think they wouldn't be that difficult yet I continually struggle to find the recipe for what I consider to be the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie. Results tend to be either too cake like, too crispy or too doughy (don't be fooled, I like cookie dough as much as the next gal but I prefer my baked cookies to be done). If you've had the same struggle give this recipe a try. Shoot, try it even if you are happy with your current recipe. It is by far the best chocolate chip recipe I have tried and I hope you will try it and agree.

To get the best results, don't skimp and use real butter, real vanilla and real chocolate chips. You will be happy you didn't cut corners.







Cathy's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

 Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

1. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, soda and salt and set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Mix in the eggs and egg yolks and vanilla until light and creamy (it will be thinner than you expet it to be and that's okay).
4. Mix in the sifted dry ingredients until just blended.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
6. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
7. Bake 15-17 minutes in the preheated one, or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. 

Yield: 28 cookies 

Note: For a smaller 3" cookie, use a 1 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon. I've found the baking time is the same and you will get more cookies (approximately 4 1/2 dozen). The smaller cookies taste just as good but are not as impressive as the 5 inch cookies on a platter!

Cathy's Vegetable Soup

Most of us think of soup as a winter dish.  However, with the modern convenience of air conditioning, soup is really appropriate all year round. 

I love soups and make them often.  It makes preparing supper a breeze after a long day at work and because it makes so much, I enjoy the leftovers packed for my lunch.

This soup is quick, easy and healthy. I threw it together one afternoon when I didn't know what to fix for dinner. 

This recipe and chili are the soups I most frequently prepare.
You can easily adjust this to use ingredients what you have on hand.  I typically use both ground beef and ground turkey, but you can also use all ground beef if you prefer. 
Like my chili, I always just make this, never following a written recipe (not that I'd necessarily follow it precisely if I had one).  Today, while making the soup, I decided to measure and write down the ingredients and directions so I could share it with you.

I missed adding beef soup base to my shopping list so I had to use beef broth today. It isn't necessary to use soup base but it adds a richer flavor to the soup that I prefer.

Like many soups, this one gets better with age, so get out your biggest soup pot and make it a day ahead so the flavors have a chance to fully develop.

Cathy's Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cups shredded carrots (I buy them pre-shredded)
6 cups shredded cabbage (1/2 a medium sized head)
3 15 oz. cans of pinto beans
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
8 cups of beef soup base
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

Directions:

1. Add the olive oil to a large stock pot.  Place over medium heat. 
2. Add the ground turkey, ground beef, chopped onion, salt and pepper to the pot and cook, crumbling meat until it is browned.
3. Drain any fat from the pan.
4. Add carrots, pinto beans, tomato sauce and beef broth to the pan, stirring to mix ingredients.
5. Add fennel seed and thyme and shredded cabbage.
6. Stir to mix well.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer until cabbage and carrots are cooked.
8. Sample and adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan and crusty loaf of bread.

Rolo Delights

A bag of these delightful sweet treats are on the way to my brother who is serving in the Army half way around the world.  I found this recipe in the local newspaper last year.  It was around holiday time.  I made them and they were a huge hit.  Watch for Rolos on sale and keep them on hand for this quick and easy treat. 

The most time consuming part of fixing these delightful treats is unwrapping the Rolos.  So grab the kids or grandkids to help you, but be prepared for a few to be eaten in the process!

If you are making up a couple of bags of Rolos into these, you may want to unwrap them the evening before and just store them until you are ready to use them.

This recipe makes about 50.  Be prepared, they won't last long!






Rolo Delights

Ingredients:

1 bag Rolo candies
Small Pretzel Twists
Pecan Halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place pretzels in a single layer on the baking sheet.
4. Place 1 unwrapped Rolo on top of each pretzel.
5. Sort through your pecans and find enough nice halves to place on top of the candies and set them aside.
6. When you have your pecans ready, Put the cookie sheet with the Rolo topped pretzels into the oven.
7. After 3 minutes check the candies to see if they have started to melt and are squishy. It doesn't take long and you don't want them to melt completely down.
8. When they are soft, remove them from the oven and push a pecan half into the top of each Rolo.

Set aside to cool then watch them disappear!

Personal Omelets

Everyone knows that breakfast is a meal you shouldn't skip. I've never been much of a breakfast eater, unless I'm on vacation and eating breakfast out. Anyway, when I was a kid, I remember mom making me drink a glass of milk before leaving for school. I guess she figured milk is good for you and if I would at least drink a glass of milk, it was better than nothing.

I've carried my bad breakfast habits on into adulthood because I leave for work really early. I'm up at 4:30 and out the door in about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Sometimes less than that if I opt to hit the snooze button multiple times, which I do frequently.

In effort to be more healthy and eat a decent breakfast, I've started packing breakfast along with my lunch and eating it when I get to work. These personal omelets are one of the things I do on the weekends to make a healthy breakfast more achievable.

You can be as creative with these as you want to suit your dietary needs or taste preferences.

If you have left over cooked veggies, you can add a few. Same with the meats, you can use ham, turkey, sausage, etc. If you are watching your cholesterol you can use Egg Beaters or store brand substitute and if not, real eggs work great too. Feel free to switch up the spices as well, if you like things spicy, add some cayenne, or a smidge of chili powder. I often do not put the seasonings in with the eggs, but rater season each omelet individually so I can vary the tastes all week. I also prefer to use Egg Beaters because it is easier to pour out of the carton as you need it; not to mention dietary guidelines don't recommend eating a dozen eggs every week!

Personal Omelet

Yield: 12

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 green or red bell pepper, finely diced
1 6 oz. package boiled ham
3 oz. fat free cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 teaspoon Spike Seasoning (Use Mrs. Dash if you can't find Spike or salt and pepper )

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spay.
2. To each muffin tin, add 1 teaspoon of chopped onion, 1 teaspoon diced bell pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons of diced ham. Evenly divde any extra ingredients among the twelve muffins.
3. Top each of the 12 omelets with 1 teaspoon fat free cheddar cheese.
4. Beat the eggs with the Spike Seasoning.
5. Pour the beaten egg mixture over the ingredients in the muffin cups, filling the muffin cups 3/4 full.
6. Using a fork and gently stir each omelet, to mix ingredients.
7. Place the muffin pan into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
8. The omelets will be lightly browned.
9. Remove from the oven at the conclusion of baking, let the omelets cool.

You can see by this photo what happens when you over fill the muffin cups. 

When the omelets have cooled, I put two in a Ziploc sandwich bag and put them in the refrigerator so they are ready to grab-n-go.  They reheat easily in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes on high for a quick healthy breakfast with my coffee at my desk.

For variation,try serving with salsa and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

Pecan Pie Muffins

I don't recall where I learned about this recipe but have seen it several times on various blogs and it is so simple and so good that I wanted to pass it along to you.

This recipe stirs up  quickly with only five simple ingredients that I bet you have in your pantry right now.  While they are baking your house smells delectable.

If you love pecan pie or know someone who does, give this recipe a try and wait for the compliments to come your way!

I've made these for my neighbor who came over unsolicited with his snow blower this winter to clear my driveway and have a batch in the oven right now to send to my brother for his birthday!

Pecan Pie Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs

Directions:

Oven Ready

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).

1. Liberally coat mini-muffin tins with non-stick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour and chopped pecans.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter and eggs until smooth.
4. Stir egg and butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling to 3/4 full.
6. Bake at 350 degrees (175 C) for 20-24 minutes.
7. Cool on wire racks when done.

Wait until the muffins are completely cool before trying to remove them from the muffin pan.  Run a knife around the edges of the muffin pan to make removal easier.  The muffins have a tendency to stick.  That's okay though....the baker needs to sample them for recipe quality control! 

Yield:  24 mini muffins.

Warm from the Oven

Lemon Poppy Seed Belgian Waffles

Last night I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and was looking for something that I could make with ingredients I had on hand. 

I decided it would be waffle night!   Seems I tend to gravitate to breakfast when I want a quick and easy supper.  Maybe that's a throwback to my childhood when we had scrambled eggs for supper sometimes, or possibly because if I eat pancakes in the morning they just seem to stay with me all day long!  Regardless of the reason, I love breakfast!

Peppered Smoked Bacon

To accompany the waffles, you need something salty to counter the sweetness of the syrup right?  What could be better at that than thick sliced, peppered, smoked bacon?   I preheated my oven to 425, put the bacon strips on a jelly roll pan, sprinkled them liberally with cracked black pepper (no need to pay extra for that at the grocery) and popped it into the oven to bake for about 10 minutes, turning them and cooked another 5-7 until it was crispy.  Be sure to keep an eye on it so you don't over cook (burn) the bacon.
I prefer this method of cooking bacon because it results in nice flat strips and you don't have a greasy stove top to clean up and risk getting burned with popping hot fat.   Not to mention you can cook nearly an entire package of bacon at one time.  You can keep leftovers in the fridge in a baggie and save yourself some change by not buying the pricey pre-cooked bacon at the supermarket.


To make life a little simpler, I keep Krusteaz Belgian Waffle mix in the pantry.  There is nothing wrong with having a helping hand and this waffle mix produces a wonderful result.

Last night, I did decide to dress it up a bit, adding my own special touches.   I used the quantities listed on the package for 2-3 waffles.  Keeping the waffles warm in the oven so they didn't lose their crispiness.  If you are making a larger quantity, you will need to adjust the amount of lemon juice, lemon peel and poppy seeds.



Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles
Ingredients:
  
1 1/2 cups Krusteaz Belgian Waffle mix
1 egg
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup water less 2 Tablespoons
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons dried lemon peel

Directions:   

1. Add all ingredients into mixing bowl and mix until well blended.  If you have a bowl with a pouring spout, put it to use here.  It will make getting the batter into the waffle maker super easy.
2. Preheat and spray your belgian waffle maker with non-stick spray.
3. Cook the waffles according to the directions.  
4. Place the cooked waffles directly onto the oven rack in a 250 degree F oven to keep them crisp.

To serve top with your favorite toppings.  I finished mine with warm blueberry lemon compote and some whipped cream.

Yield:  3 waffles

I served the waffles topped with Blueberry Lemon Compote and a dollop of whipped cream and a few fresh blueberries.  A side of thick sliced smoked peppered bacon completed the plate.  

Grilled Turkey Breast with Date and Apricot Stuffing

Garden Sage

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner this year and it was really good.  I wanted to fix turkey this week and decided to pull out the recipe.  I had all the ingredients that I needed, with one substitution.  I have sage growing in my flower bed so I harvested a few leaves.   

I really love sage.  My grandma Burkhart had several sage bushes and when I was a kid visiting, I'd pick the leaves right off the bushes and eat them.  Grandma would scold me for eating them because there might be bugs or worms but that didn't stop me!  However, if you are using fresh sage, as the recipe calls for, be sure to wash it to rid it from any bugs and dirt.

This is not a difficult recipe and the preparation time is more than most but the tasty result is well worth the extra effort.  You will find this recipe is a nice alternative to the traditional roasted bird and works well for special occasions or for week night supper. 

Since you will be handling raw meat, be sure to clean up thoroughly with soapy water and avoid cross contamination of utensils and work surfaces.  I did a lot of handwashing while making this to take all the photos!


Turkey Breast with Date and Apricot Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup pitted and coarsely chopped dried dates
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
Salt & Pepper to Taste

1 boneless, skinless turkey breast half (1 3/4 to 2 lbs)
Salt and Pepper
3 slices of thick-sliced bacon
Kitchen String

Directions:

Onions

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently.  Cook until the onion is soft and lightly browned.  Set aside to cool.

Minced Ingredients

Put the dates, apricots, walnuts, parsley and sage into the bowl of a small food processor.  Pulse until everything is minced and well combined.   Transfer to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the turkey breast on a cutting board and with a sharp knife parallel to the work surface, slice open the turkey breast horizontally, working from the thicker side of the lobe to the thinner side and not cutting all the way through.

Open up the turkey breast like a book and season generously with salt and pepper.  Spread the stuffing evenly over half the opened breast, leaving a little border around the outer edge.  Fold the other half of the turkey breast over the stuffing, encasing the stuffing as much as possible.

Lay the three strips of bacon lengthwise on top o the turkey breast and tie the breast crosswise with kitchen string in four or five places to hold everything together.

Season both sides of the turkey with salt and pepper.

Preheat your gas grill to 350 degrees.  Place the turkey breast bacon side up on the grill and maintain the heat for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, turn the breast over and continue to maintain the grill at 350 and continue cooking the turkey breast for an additional 20-30 minutes or until the center of the breast reads 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.

Remove the turkey from the grill, let rest for 10 minutes loosely covered with foil. 

Carve and serve.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Vinegar and Strawberries?  Yes, a special kind of vinegar...Balsamic Vinegar.  This exquisite vinegar is not the apple cider or white vinegar typically stored in your pantry. Balsamic is an absolutely splendid pairing for the strawberries and it adds  complexity to the jam. 

Let me say that before you think about whipping up a batch of this jam, it does require a boiling water bath.  So you will need some gear to accomplish this.  If you do not have a canner, a large stock pot will do the trick.  You will need a jar grip or some type of method of removing the jars from the boiling water at the conclusion of their bath.

The purpose of the boiling water bath is to kill any bacteria that may be lurking and is used for canning high-acid foods.  This enables the jam to be stored in a cool dark place without refrigeration. 

The main attraction in this recipe is strawberries and the season is nearly upon us.  Soon we will be able to go to our favorite u-pick, farmer's market or our back yard garden spot for ripe and ready berries so gather your canning gear and give this recipe a try.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Yield:  4 1/2 pints

Ingredients:

4.5 pounds Fresh Ripe Strawberries
3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 Tablespoons quality Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

1. Wash the strawberries, remove the tops and coarsely chop. 
2. Place the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a heavy bottom pot and bring to a boil.  (I used my enameled cast iron pot.)
3. Boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently, and skimming off the foam for 20 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to a slow boil and continue to cook until the jam has almost set. Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick.  This step should take between 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Add the balsamic vinegar and mix well.
6. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Note:  To test if your jam has set, place a small plate in the freezer before you begin to make the jam.  Whe you think your jam has thickened enough, take a small spoon and spoon a small amount onto the plate.  Place the plate in the refrigerator for a minute or two.  Remove the plate and hold it sideways.  The jam should be thick enough to mound on the plate and not run off.

• Sterilize your jars and lids and while still hot, fill with the jam leaving about 1/2 inch head space.  Place the lids onto the jars and boil in a water bath with jars covered by 3 inches of water for 10 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and let sit an additional 5 minutes before removing the jars from the water. 
• Place the jars on the counter and let sit untouched for 6 hours before storing.  You will hear a pop when the lids seal.  If you aren't around to hear the "music" of the popping lids, you can check by pressing the center of the lid.  If it is down and will not move the jar is sealed.  If the jar isn't sealed, refrigerate and use immediately.

Think creatively this "jammy" jam is good for dipping pretzels, spreading on toasted angel food cake, as topping for waffles or pancakes, filling for crepes, mixed in with your plain vanilla yogurt or used as a glaze for a pork roast or grilled chicken, let your imagination run wild!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Angel Food Cake

My kitchen has smelled heavenly this weekend, but then again it should.  Yesterday, I baked an Angel Food Cake!

I have some luscious strawberries and I just love angel food cake with strawberries.  Growing up, we had angel food cake often, mostly from a boxed mix, served plain without frosting.  Grandma used to make a glaze for hers, but  mom never frosted her angel food cakes.  Like mom, I'm a purist when it comes to angel food cake.  I want mine without frosting.

I've been known to be lazy and just buy a ready-made cake at the grocery, but not this weekend.  When I saw that they wanted nearly $5 for one, I drove my cart straight to the dariy section and purchased a dozen extra large eggs and came home and made my own.  It took very little time and while had hoped for a loftier result, it is sufficient and it is a perfect combination of light sweetness.

The cake preparation took me on a trip down memory lane.  Most angel food cakes require a tube pan.  The tube pan I have belonged to my grandmother.   It is still shiny but it definitely shows its age.  The other thing I needed was a glass soda bottle that I had stored under the sink.  That is needed for inverting the cake so it cools upside down and doesn't collapse.  Lastly, I had to go to the cabinet in the garage for the cake carrier, yet another memory because it was my grandmothers carrier.

Now let's go warp speed to this century to newer kitchen gadgets.  One of my all time favorites, a battery powdered sifter.  Don't knock it until you've tried it.  This is the second one I've owned.  My first one was broken during a a move and I finally found a replacement.

Think of it as a power tool for girls!

Angel Food Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups egg whites (I used 9 extra large eggs)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar




Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Separate eggs, taking extreme care to not break the yolks.  If you break a yolk, put the whole egg in another bowl and start with another egg.  Getting even a speck of yolk will cause your egg whites to not beat up properly.  Use a separate bowl for catching the egg white and add it to the collection bowl for measuring only after you are sure there is absolutely no yolk in it.
3. Measure the egg whites.  You will need 1 1/2 cups.  Depending on the size of your eggs it could take as few as 9 or as many as 12.
4. Place the whites in a mixing bowl.  Make sure that your bowl, beaters and utensils are grease free. 
5. Let the egg whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, sift the powdered sugar flour together three (yes three) times; set aside.
7. Add the cream of tartar, vanilla and almond extracts and salt to the bowl wth the egg whites.
8. Beat on high speed.  
9. Gradually add the granulated sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating until the sugar has dissolved and stiff peaks form.
10. Fold in the flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time until blended.
11. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan.  Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets.
12. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
13. Immediate invert pan onto glass soda bottle; cool completely before removing from pan.



Angel Food Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam and Whipped Cream



Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

I previously posted that I have a bumper crop of rhubarb this year and I am so thankful!   In addition to freezing some for pies, this lovely ruby colored jam slathered on toast or atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream will surely conjure up wishes for the arrival of spring during the cold chilly winter months.

This recipe is not mine.  Rather, it is one that I found on Lee Drummond's website, known to the blogger world as The Pioneer Woman and decided to give it a try.   A friend of mine shared this website with me last year.  Thanks Andrea!

If you haven't seen the website, when you get a few minutes, relax and take a look. I think you'll enjoy it.

This recipe makes a lovely freezer jam with minimal ingredients and minimal trouble.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Freezer Jam

Yield:  6 pint jelly jars

Ingredients:

8 cups chopped rhubarb

3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup + 4 teaspoons of Strawberry Jello (buy the large box - you'll have leftovers)

Directions:

1. Wash and chop rhubarb.
2. Place the rhubarb in a large heavy pan and mix in the sugar.
3. Let the rhubarb and sugar mixture sit for 2 hours to bring out the juices in the rhubarb.
4. Turn the heat up under the pot and bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Stir and boil for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the Jell-O and mix well to dissolve the Jell-O.
7. Ladle the mixture into pint sized jars. Wipe the lids and place on the ring.
8. Cool to room temperature.
9. Place jars in the freezer.

Note: Use tempered glass jars so they can be placed in the freezer.



After 2 hours

Be sure to put one jar in the fridge because you are going to want to sample this beautiful jam right away!

Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam