Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup cold and cubed unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table or fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I did half milk and half semi-sweet)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mix in vanilla and beat until well incorporated.
2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips/chunks and nuts.
3. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients.
4. Weigh out the dough into 4 ounce portions and gently roll into a ball. (I got ten 4 ounce cookies out of this dough).
4. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes depending on how gooey and rawish you like the interior, until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. I baked mine for 16 minutes, which seemed to be perfect in my oven.
5. Let cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat in an airtight container.

Mary's Peach Raspberry Jam

This recipe is delicious!

Raspberry Peach Jam

10 cups sugar (4 lbs. bag of sugar plus 1 cup)

7 cups peaches (cut up in small pieces)

2 pints frozen or fresh raspberries = 4 cups mashed

2 pkg raspberry jello (small)

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

3/4 C Ultra Gel

Boil jars, lids, and rings while jam is cooking.

Cook sugar, peaches and raspberries.  Bring to a rolling boil and stir constantly to avoid scorching.  Skim out top while it is boiling.  Cook 10 – 12 minutes.

Remove from stove and add jello and lemon juice.  If using Ultra Gel (make for a thicker consistency), add it now. Use a wire whisk to stir each of these ingredients in slowly.

Pour into hot jars.

Use a knife around edge of jar to release any air.

Wipe top of jars to clean and then boil lids to seal.  Screw down lid tight.

If lids don’t seal after 24 hours, put jars in a water bath of boiling water for 20 minutes.

Recipe makes approx. 8 pints.

2015 Notes

1 -30 lb box of peaches $30 about 80 peaches

2 -8lb flats of raspberries $56 made four batched with 2 cups of berries

left over (16 Cups of smashed berries)

7Cups of peaches = about 12 peaches per batch

I used ¾ C ultra gel/batch and I like the consistency.

Four batches made 37 ½ pints.

Spent $108 total (including Ultra Gel). Did not need to buy lids or jars this time.

$2.88 per pint.

2012- made 23 pints with 1-12 cup flat of rasberries and 1-32 lb box of peaches. We had 3 cups of berries left over and probably 8 lbs of peaches to spare. (This year we measured the 4 cups of raspberries whole and fresh and then mashed them.) That is why each batch yielded 6-7 pints, instead of 2015's 8 pints. $3.47 per pint.

3 envelope roast

3lb beef roast (chuck)
1 Italian dressing packet
1 ranch dressing packet
1 brown gravy packet

2 cups water

Brown roast. Mix packets with water until well blended. Pour liquid over roast.

Cook in crockpot 4 hrs on high, 8 hrs on low

Nikki Perk's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 C shortening

1/3 C butter

1/2 C white sugar

1/2 C Brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

chocolate chips

optional: peanuts-dry roasted

peanut butter chips

 

plop heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheet bake at 375- around 10 min- DO NOT OVERCOOK!

Chicken Meatball Skewers

This is a kid and parent favorite!
I like it with Costco pesto. When I do make the pesto, I have replaced the spinach with basil. Amy also recommends replacing the almonds with walnuts.

From Italian Dish Blog

Chicken Meatball Skewers with Pesto

Makes 26 skewers

I always have a tube of Amore tomato paste in my fridge for recipes that call for just a little tomato paste, like this one.

For the Chicken Meatballs:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ cup finely diced onion
1 large clove garlic, grated
1 pound ground chicken
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

For the Spinach Almond Pesto:

1 ounce hard cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
1 ounce raw (unsalted, unroasted) almonds
2 ounces fresh spinach
¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon course black pepper
a pinch of red chili pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil 

For the Assembly:

7 red cherry tomatoes, halved
6 yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
26 fresh basil leaves
1 tub of Galbani Mozzarella Fresca Ciliegine (cherry tomato size mozzarella), about 26 pieces

Preheat oven to 375º F and line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.   In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and gently saute the onion for about 7 minutes, until soft.  Add the grated garlic and saute for about a minute more.  Transfer to a medium sized bowl and allow to cool.

Add the ground chicken to the onion mixture, along with the tomato paste, sea salt, pepper, oregano and fresh parsley. Mix gently but thoroughly, using your hands.  Do not overmix.  Form the meatball mixture into 26 small meatballs, about a tablespoon each.  Place on baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.  

While the meatballs are baking, make the pesto.  In a food processor, grind the cheese and almonds until fine.  Add the spinach, salt, and both peppers and process until spinach is ground.  Scrape down with a spatula if you need to.  Add the olive oil slowly through the feed tube and process until smooth.  

When the meatballs are finished, assemble the skewers, with the meatballs on the bottom.  Serve with the Pesto.  

The Italian Dish

theitaliandishblog.com

Cowboy Salsa

1 can black beans
1 can corn (shoe peg) in frozen section- cook it first
1 can black eyed peas
1 avocado
2-3 roma tomatoes (or diced cherry tomatoes)
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 jalepeno peppers diced up small
Zesty Italian dressing to taste

PASTA WITH PESTO, POTATOES, AND GREEN BEANS

PASTA WITH PESTO, POTATOES, AND GREEN BEANS
Published July 1, 2013.   From Cook's Illustrated.



WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The idea of serving two starches together might seem unusual, but this dish from Liguria is the classic way to serve pesto. The starch from the potatoes lends body to the sauce, and the tender green beans add color and flavor. Red potatoes make the creamiest sauce.

Some traditional recipes call for cooking the potatoes, green beans, and pasta simultaneously in the same pot, but it often results in one or more elements being overcooked. Cooking them separately makes the dish more foolproof.

If gemelli is unavailable, penne or rigatoni make good substitutes. Use large red potatoes measuring 3 inches or more in diameter.

• 3 garlic cloves , unpeeled
• 1pound large red potatoes , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 12ounces green beans , trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths (I like to cut into ½ inch pieces)
• 2cups fresh basil leaves
• 1ounce Parmesan cheese , grated (1/2 cup)
• 7tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
• 1tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Cup chopped chicken – I use the Costco Rotiserie Chicken (very good)

1. Toast pine nuts and garlic in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pine nuts are golden and fragrant and garlic darkens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool. Peel garlic and chop coarsely.

2. Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are tender but still hold their shape, 9 to 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to rimmed baking sheet. (Do not discard water.)

3. Meanwhile, bring ½ cup water and ¼ teaspoon salt to boil in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add green beans, cover, and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain green beans and transfer to sheet with potatoes.

4. Process basil, Parmesan, oil, pine nuts, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute.

5. Add gemelli to water in large pot and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Set colander in large bowl. Drain gemelli in colander, reserving cooking water in bowl. Return gemelli to pot. Add butter, lemon juice, potatoes and green beans, pesto, 1¼ cups reserved cooking water, and ½ teaspoon pepper and stir
vigorously with rubber spatula until sauce takes on creamy appearance. Add additional cooking water as needed to adjust consistency and season with salt and pepper.

6. I served Garlic bread with it (delicious)