Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

There are a couple of recipes for chocolate mint chip cookies that I've tried. I prefer the recipe that uses chocolate chips for the chocolate because the cookies are more moist. However you need to be careful not to over bake as the cookies dry out quickly. Also the recipe is more of a hassle and creates more of a mess. So I've included both recipes and you can decide for yourself.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semisweet chips
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups mint chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease baking sheets.

Melt semisweet chips in top of double boiler over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat; set aside. Cream butter, sugars, salt, corn syrup and vanilla in large bowl on medium speed until light. Beat in egg then melted chocolate until well blended.

Combine flour and baking soda in small bowl. Add flour to chocolate mixture just until combined. Stir in mint chips. Drop by heaping tablespoonful onto baking sheets, two inches apart. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies look set and dry. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container. Makes four dozen cookies.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups mint chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not over bake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

Note:  Since creating this post I discovered the pudding recipe and have found it to be much easier, while still making a moist cookie and it is more versatile.

Salmon Cakes

So I wanted to make salmon cakes because I love salmon. Actually I enjoy most all seafood. Anyway I wanted to make sure they turned out well so I used a cookbook.

It was a disaster. The salmon cakes wouldn't stick together and they tasted really dry. So I decided I'd try making my own recipe - I mean it couldn't be worse than the first try. And I learned I should trust myself because they turned out quite well.

I used real mashed potatoes and haven't tried it with instant yet. When I'm running short on time (which is most of the time so the wait probably wont be long) I'll add a note about how it works with the instant. Also I used fresh rosemary because it grows in my garden. If someone tries it with the rosemary from their spice shelf let me know how much worked best.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium potatoes
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp milk
• 6 oz can salmon
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 2 large eggs

Peel and cube potatoes. Add to pan of water and boil for 15 minutes. Drain the water and whip (or mash). Add butter and whip. Add milk and whip until potatoes are a consistent texture.

Drain juice from salmon and remove skin. Add to potatoes. Add all remaining ingredients to potatoes. Stir until all ingredients are completely mixed together.

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan at medium heat. Drop 1/8 cup of batter per cake onto hot pan. Flip when golden brown (about three to five minutes). Cook the other side for an equal amount of time. Serve hot.

Salmon Alfredo Pasta

This is a quick meal--goes together in about 15 minutes (5 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of cooking). And I think you will be amazed that you can make such great tasting Alfredo sauce at home.

I didn't put in amounts for the pasta or the salmon (or lemon juice and garlic salt--salmon seasoning) because I figured that would very depending on personal tastes and needs. However, the sauce easily covers four servings of pasta.

Ingredients:

• Pasta
• Salmon
• lemon juice
• garlic salt
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Turn oven to broil. Bring a pot of water to boil.

Grease cookie sheet. Top with salmon. Sprinkle with lemon juice and garlic salt.

Mix cream cheese, milk, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper and parsley in saucepan over medium heat.

Add pasta to boiling water and put salmon in the oven. Stir the Alfredo sauce while cooking for 10 minutes.

Remove salmon from oven. Drain noodles.

Dish up noodles, top with sauce then flaked salmon. Use extra parsley for garnish.

Potato Stew

This is a fairly simple soup with a lot of nutritional value and if you leave out the bacon it makes a nice vegetarian meal. (It's also less fattening.) It goes together quickly - the only prep work is peeling and cutting the potatoes if you use frozen vegetables and pre-cooked bacon. And it cooks up in about twenty to thirty minutes.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 chopped spinach
• 1/4 crumbled bacon
• garlic salt

Peel and cube potatoes. Add to saucepan with milk, water, remaining vegetables and bacon if using. Salt to taste. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Begin over medium heat. When it begins to boil turn to medium low.

Apple-Sweet Potato Crisp

This recipe would make a good side dish at Thanksgiving or a wonderful dessert throughout the year. It is sweet enough to eat by itself or for an extra treat you could top it with whipped cream or ice cream.

If you have an apple slicer it goes together quickly. I don't even peel the apple. Or if you don't mind chopped apples you could use a food processor. Otherwise everything else comes together quickly. Plus it only has a half hour cook time. Put it in when you start dinner and even if your dinner only requires a 15 minute prep. time desert will still be ready in time.

Ingredients:

• 1 large can sweet potatoes
• 1 large apple, sliced
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Drain sweet potatoes and layer with apples into a baking dish (about 9x9). Sprinkle in the pecans.

Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Sprinkle over baking dish.

Cook for 30 minutes.

Eggplant in Tomato Sauce

I decided I'd try to introduce a little more variety into the vegetables I feed my family. At first I thought I'd add the eggplant to a pasta sauce and serve it over pasta, but when I went to make the dinner I realized I had much more eggplant than tomatoes. When I mixed it up I realized it didn't really need the pasta at all.

Ingredients:

• One large eggplant peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• garlic salt
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon basil

Heat the oil in a pan. Add eggplant. Sprinkle salt over eggplant. Brown on all sides. Sprinkle cheese over browned eggplant and let melt.

Add tomatoes, sauce and basil. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and serve warm.

Quick Crumb Cake

This cake has a very crumbly texture and is sweet enough to eat unfrosted. However, if you want to take the time to frost a cake it also works well frosted. It mixes together very quickly and easily though it takes nearly an hour to bake.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Microwave butter until softened. Mix with sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time.

Mix together dry ingredients. Sift into sugar mixture. Add lemon peel.

Pour into a greased cake pan and bake for 50 minutes.