allrecipes.com's best chocolate chip cookie

These are seriously amazing cookies, and I think I agree that they are the best.
I discovered them in a baking phase maybe 4 years ago and was in complete agreement.
I'm posting a link to the original recipe, along with how I do it differently.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10813/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/


Preheat oven to 350


you need:
cooking trays

ingredients are:

1 cup softened butter- I use olive oil and I use half a cup
1 cup white sugar- I use half a cup
1 cup packed brown sugar- I use half a cup

With the fat and sugars in recipes I tend to cut them in half and replace them with unsweetened applesauce. I have found that this is a rougly perfect ration to substitute and make changes with.

2 eggs

2 tea spoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 tea spoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips - I was making these and only had semi-sweet chocolate chip mini-morsels, so I used them and I used the entire bag without measuring. Actually really liked it!

1 cup chopped walnuts (I say this is optional. I'll try them out and put an update of how much I like the in here. I'm not a huge nut fan, but I've been changing my mind on them recently).

Follow the recipe, Cream together the sugars and olive oil, plus the applesauce.
Beat the eggs in one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Dissolve  the baking soda in the hot water, then add with the salt. Stir in the flour (this will take a bit of time and be a bit challenging. Stir in the chocolate chips and optional walnuts.

The recipe says to drop by large spoonfuls on ungreased pans. I have done that and they are amazing.
I however recently bought a cookie dough scoop, so I used that. And I plopped them down on parchment paper.

Bake for 10 minutes.

I really love how they came out.

 

They are soft and fluffy, yet firm. And al the mini-morsels fit so well. I believe the applesauce helped them keep their form from the scoop. I have made chocolate cookies with that same scoop and witout applesauce, they expanded out rathre than up.

Here's what they look like when I only add a couple tablepoons of apple sauce rather than half a cup.

They came out delicious and amazing, just not quite the same. 

Stuffed Peppers

This is a recipe that takes maybe an 1-2 hours of prep time...well if you are making over 6 peppers.
So I tend to make this recipe only when I know I have the time to put ino the prep work, and also when I'm trying to impress someone.

This recipe makes about 12 servings. I repeat, I live with 3 men, it is necessary.
 Preheat oven to 350

Items you will need,
Cutting board
good knife
cast iron skillet (my preference, you can use any large skillet)
wooden spoon
large metal serving spoon
can to drain grease into
dish big enough to put your peppers in to bake them
4 lbs ground turkey
7 stalks of chopped celery (optional but great!)
half a large red onion or an entire medium red onion diced
4 tablespoons diced garlic
salt
bell peppers
pasta sauce  (i use this recipe, you can use whatever you like http://cuisinewithmaureen.blogspot.com/2016/12/tomato-garlic-and-fresh-basil-pasta.html)
rice (optional)
nut of your choice (optional. I have not tried this yet, I just image they would taste great with almonds, cashews or water chestnuts)

Empty your defrostd ground turkey into our skillet
have your grease can and metal spoon at the ready to collect grease
break the meat down with the wooden spoon
some people will season their meat now, just throw some pinches of salt and pepper on it and stir

cut the stems off the tops of the peppers and clean out the insides

dice the onion ( or buy prediced onion, it's okay to cheat sometimes)
rince and shop the celery, cut into small bit size pieces,
I cut eat stalk in half lenghtwise  and then cut into quarter inch pieaces

dice your garlic (or buy prediced garlic)
if you don't have garlic, garlic powder or garlic salt work just fine!!

add these to the meat once you have all the grease drained from the skillet. Stir them all in and add pinch of salt.

Let them until they are a little wilted.

You can cut your peppers in half or leave them as a bowl.
Assemble them in your baking dish.
I actually use 2 baking dishes, a smaller one for my dad who wants nothing to do with tomatoes and a large one for the rest that receivethe sauce.

If you don't have a need to separate the meat, skip this step.
I fill 2 peppers with the sauceless meat, and put a little extra filling in that dish.

I add my pasta sauce to the rest of the filling, making sure it's all well coated, I like to put a bit more in for the flavor. You can add as much as you want.

Add this filling to the peppers. And top them off with a even layer of sauce on top of each.

Put these in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meat sauce

Follow this recipe.
http://cuisinewithmaureen.blogspot.com/2016/12/tomato-garlic-and-fresh-basil-pasta.html

I basically do the same thing with this as I do with my regular sauce. I would just add more tomatoes. I also had 2 pounds of ground turkey.

So you want to burn your ground turkey and make sure to break it down into small pieces. I use the small end of my wooden spoon to break it down into the tiniest pieaces.
Make sure to drain the grease.
Once this is done, add it into the pasta sauce. You might need to add a 15 oz can of crushed tomoatoes, it sould only have roughly 50mg sodium, which is a good amout compared to others.

Make sure to add a couple more pinches of salt, and add more herbs if you like. The meat tends to absorb the flavors, so add more now.

Simmer for mybe 30 minutes-2 hours. Tasting occasonally.

Tomato, garlic, and fresh basil pasta sauce

So I originally made this over the summer when I decided that I needed a tomato sauce but I refused to get store bought anymore. Too much salt and sugar in those! But I also knew that I needed to run this buy some Italians and get their approval before I posted anything about it.

So normally with cooking something that I've never done before I start with researching various recipes for it. I find what's similar and what I don't want to use that is in some and not others, and then I figure out what I want to do, Which was originally my plan for making tomato sauce. I did not do this. My brother's girlfriend mentioned that she made her own pasta sauce (as far as I'm aware she's not Italian), I asked her if she used a recipe or just winged it. She just winged it and told me the basic things she did. What she used. And I being someone that basically learned everything I know about making pasta sauce from the Italians on Food Network, I had a basic idea of how she did what she did.

I've done this a few times a little different way each time. I have done 3 large batches and 1 small batch because I needed it for my stuffed peppers.

I grab a large pot and drizzle the bottom with olive oil. almost enough to coat the bottom.
I turn the burner on low.
dice up about 3/4 or 1/2 of a red onion. (red onion is key for flavor).
I use a zester to grate in my garlic. about 3-4 cloves. or 3 tablespoons of preminced garlic (cheating can be amazing sometimes).
Stir that up.
I throw in a small can of tomato paste. Find the one with the lowest amount of sodium.
Start chopping up you fresh tomatoes. I use slicing tomotoes because they hold up better under the knife. Throw those in. I use about 10.
Throw in 2-3 tablespoons of salt. Salt to taste.
Throw in a small can of tomato sauce.
A few tablespoons of thyme and oregano.
A handful of ripped up fresh basil.
Let it simmer and stir it. put a lid on.
Wait for the tomatoes to break down.
This will take a few hours.

Taste it every so often to make sure the flavors you want are developing, if not, add a little more or add a pinch more salt. You are in control and can make it how you like. If you have leftovers and mason jars,  jar my sauce, you can too. Put in refrigerator. Still figuring out how many weeks it lasts.

Chicken sausage, veggies with an egg on top

This is a dish that's really easy and I can eat it any time of day.
The hardest part might be cooking the cook sunnyside up.

What you'll need:

2 skillets
wooden spoon
spatula
1-2 eggs ( I prefer 2)
2-3 links of chicken sausage (mine is flavored with sage and thyme)
fresh or frozen veggies. I use broccoli, carrots, cauliflower. You can also throw in zuccini, squash.

A salt for a seasonings (optional) just a small shake or 2
Cheese is a optional.

I grab a large skillet for the sausage and veggies because I need to eat more. A smaller skillet is also perfectly fine.
Spray it with olive oil.
turn the burner on to 3 or 4
I cut open a bag of frozen veggies and pour about half in, sometimes I throw in the whole bag.
Cut up your chicken sausage links. about half an inch. Throw those in.
Stir it all up a bit.

I don't set any timers. So I suggest just checking on it every few minutes and stirring to get a nice even browning on the sausages and the veggies. I also cook with my nose, so once you start to smell it, check it and it's probably done. I cook it until the sausages are browned on both sides because I like that flavor.

Grab a small skillet, spray with olive oil and turn on burner to medium-low,
Grab as many eggs as you want. I'd go somewhere from 1 and 3.
I crack my eggs on the handle of my kettle, but where everyou want.
Carefully open the egg without getting shells inside, and drop the egg as close to the pan as you can, This will help make sure the egg doesn't break upon hitting the pan.
Do the same thing with the other eggs.

Cook the eggs until they are browned along the outside. Don't overcook your eggs, we want them to be runny so that the yoke will make a nice sauce over the sausage and vegetables.

Pour your sausage and vegetables into a bowl and then place egg(s) on top.
OR don't. Tastes just as amazing without the eggs.

Not your everyday chicken; Skillet chicken and vegetables

This is my current favorite quick meal.

Things you need:
Skillet
tongs
wooden spoon
lid for skillet
olive oil
defrosted chicken breast 1 or 2
bag of frozen veggies. I use broccili or carrots, cauliflower and broccoli mix.

1.Turn on burner and drizzle olive oil on skillet

2. lay chicken breast in center of skillet

3. pour veggies around and on top of chicken. They are going to cook in the olive oil an chicken juices, which will give them amazing flavor.

4. Put lid on skillet.

5. Brown chicken on both sides, takes roughly 5 minutes each. Check on it and see if it needs to be turned or not.

6. Stir veggies a little, to give them a even cooking. You want to get a little browning and char on them.

7. Put on plate and dig in. You can cut it up into cubes before or after cooking if you like.  You can sprinkle sea salt if you want, but it is perfect on it's own.

I also like to top it with my homemade guacamole sometimes. As someone that can't have actual cream sauces, the guac acts as one. 

Dairy free rice crispy treats

I am someone that really loves rice crispy treats, but I can't eat storebought because they are made with butter...like many things are made with butter. Butter is something that tends to make the culinary and baking world go round. I can't do dairy, so for this I use olive oil as a replacement.

Rice Crispy Treats

What you will need:

Large pot
spray olive oil
half cup olive oil
spatula
wooden spoon
medal spoon
serated knife
measuring cups
square silicone baking dish
wax paper
1 box rice crispies
2 bags of regular size marshmallows
2-3 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce

1.Spray walls of pot with olive oil, completely covering all insides.

2.Pour half cup olive oil in heated pot.

3.Spray the spoons and spatula with olive oil.

4.Pour both bags of marshmallows into pot, stir continuously as they begin to melt. You don't want them to burn at the bottom.

5.After they begin to melt, pour in 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce. Continue stirring until completely melted.

6.Once completely melted, remove from heat.

7.Add rice crispy cereal one cup at a time. Add one cup and stir in then add another. Repeat this until all cereal is combined. We do this so that it's easier to completely combine it all or else it gets to be a mess and not all the cereal is covered in the marshmallow.
This will be an arm workout.

8.Once everything is combined. Spray the square silicone baking dish with the olive oil so that it's easier to remove them when they are done chilling.

9.Pour the combined mixture into the dish. Once you get it all into the dish, take wax paper and cover the dish with it and press down. Make sure to get the mixture evenly spread out in the dish and level.

10.Store in refridgerator for 3-6 hours. I do it over night.

11.After chilling to firm them, take out of baking dish and onto cutting board or large plate. I cut them into 3 pieces horiztonally and about an inch thick each vertically with a serated knife.

Store in refridgerator.

Getting chilly? Heat up some chili

With my chili I'm feeding 2 grown men and a sister that eats like a man, plus myself and my mom (my dad doesn't eat anything with tomatoes). So I typically use 3-4 lbs ground turkey. You can use as much as you want to use. I like a smokey flavor with a bit of kick to it.
I use red, yellow and orange bell peppers because my brother wasn't eating his veggies, but he liked onions...they resemble onions when cooked.

Skill level; moderate

Time: If I want this ready by 6 I start this around 4/4:30

Things you will need:

Skillet (I use a large cast iron)
Wooden spoons
Potatoe masher (optional)
something to drain the greese into
a large spoon to drain greese with
A large pot
Cutting board
a good sharp knife
strainer

ground turkey
red, yellow and oragne bell peppers, diced
red onion, diced
1 can chili beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can tomatoe paste
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes ( you can dice your own if you want)
2 tablespoons salt
dash of pepper
few shakes of chili powder
few shakes of cumin
few shakes of paprika
few shakes of garlic powder
couple shakes of dried red pepper flakes
couple shakes of cayanne

If the ground turkey is frozen it will need about 4-6 hours to defrost, so accomadate time for that.

A lot of people season their meat with salt and pepper first, I do it as it's cooking, but I use so many seasonings in the cooking process that it's never lacking. Start browning your ground turkey in the skillet, have a can or container at the ready to drain the greese into. I like to use a potatoes masher to break down the meat. Stir it occasionally. Make sure it doesn't stick to the skillet.

While the meat is cooking and you check it every few minutes, now you start dicing the onion and the bell peppers.

Note: We are using a red onion because it will give the chili amazing flavor that other onions can't give, it takes it up a notch, and never forget to add a dash of salt. Salt brings out the flavors of any dish, without a little salt most dishes are bland.

I have no particular order that I through everything in the pot. So you can start through in your crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomatoe paste, onion and bell peppers, chili beans and kidney beans when the meat is almost done. through in the turkey. Start adding all the seasonings.
I seriousy just eyeball all of my seasonings.

I drain and rinse the beans to get rid of the extra salt and startch.

I like to let it simmer until it boils while stirring it occasionally and just keeping an eye on it. Once I can really smell it I let people dig in.

Chill out: How to upgrade your cupcakes.

These are classing yellow cupcakes with vanilla frosting, decorated with red icing that I bought already in a piping bag. I made these in honor of the World Series and just because I felt like baking.

I just used a box mix and followed the instructions. These should make 24 depending on how much batter you put in each. Mine came out to 27.
Preheat your oven to 350, it takes roughly 15 minutes to get to that temperature.

Things you'll need:
Box of cake mix
Water
Oil (I prefer olive oil)
Measuring cups
3 eggs
Medium sized mixing bowl
Hand mixer/standing mixer/whisk/ spoon
Ice cream scoop or serving spoon
Spatula
Cupcake trays
Cupcake liners
Tooth picks
Icing, room temperature

Pour  your cake mix into a medium sized mixing bowl, make a small well in the middle to put your wet ingredients. Pour in your water and oil, the box calls for vegetable oil but I stick with olive oil, and your 3 large eggs (the package will say Large).
Mix it all together, I use a hand mixer, if you are using a standing mixer make sure everything at the bottom is combined. You can use a spoon it just takes more energy and takes longer.
Put your cupcake liners in the cupcake trays.
When pouring my batter I like to have a spatula on hand.

To scoop and pour my batter I use an ice cream scoop, you can also use a serving spoon.
Fill the liners up half way or a little higher.  I use the spatula to catch the batter drippings on the edge of the bowl. Later I use it to scrape excess batter to put into the liners.
Put both trays next to each other on the middle rack so they bake evenly. The box will say to bake for roughly 18-23 minutes. I went with 21 minutes. I try to stay in between times, always steer away from the maximum time because you can always keep them in longer but you can't unburn your food.
When the timer goes off, check your cupcakes by inserting your toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean then they are done, if not they must go in a little longer. You can also use a fork or a knife to check for doneness.

Once they are done, the trick is to put them in the refrigerator. The reason for the title of this post. I put mine in for 30-60 minutes, I wasn't really watching the clock. Chilling them helps cool them faster,  which is good for 2 reasons.
1) it makes sure they don't crumble apart when you are putting the icing on.... and the icing won't melt.
2) it makes them less spongy and more dense, which is how I prefer them.

You want to make sure your icing is about room temperature, easy to spread. You can also throw it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. I just spread on a nice even layer of vanilla and then I piped on red icing to make it look like a baseball. After icing you can eat them or put them back in the fridge to chill.

A little about me

I discovered my love of cooking roughly 2 years ago when I decided that I needed some time off from school and was suddenly put in charge of feeding my 2 teenage brothers. During this time I learned how to find the best deals on groceries during the week and at which stores, when to stock up and where to splurge. My first love in the kitchen was baking, which is all science and precise measurements, so I was definitely intimidated by the flexibility of cooking. I wanted to know exactly what to do,exactly what ingredients to put in I didn't know how to just "wing it". I basically learned from the food network shows I watched and researching recipes. Wow, have times changed!! I love being in charge of every ingredient that goes into my food and how much I put in. I'd rather cook from scratch than go out to eat or use prepackaged anything. I recently stopped using store bought sauce, thank God! Although my sauce is still to be tested by Italians, need their approval first.

I have had a number of friends ask me for quick and healthy cost efficient recipes to throw together quickly or for any of my favorites to cook. So I figured I'd put together a blog where they can go and sift through and pick what they want to make.

My own diet is dairy free, but I do use it when cooking for my family, I just make myself something without it. My sister is soy free and my dad has high blood pressure so I tend to avoid using a lot of salt and stay away from most soy products. However I will be writing about what products a person on a normal diet would use in these recipes if that's what you want to use, I just won't use them myself. I mostly cook with chicken and veggies, so don't be surprised by what most of my dishes have in common.

My hope is to make cooking seem more approachable to people who have no idea what's happening. It really doesn't have to be that hard. I seriously learned by reading the directions in the recipes.

As I said about my first love in the kitchen was baking, so in addition to posting cooking recipes I'll also be postin some of my favorite baked goods recipes, from apple cake to my favorite chocolate cookie and rice crispy treats.