Chewy Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe looks good, I think I'll try it. Supposedly it's just as good as Paradise Bakery and Cafe Black and White Chippers. I found this recipe on picky-palate.com . I guess this'll be the next cookie recipe I try. I really like looking for new recipes on the internet, I also like trying them out. Like I did with the chow mein. The first recipe sucked, which is why it's no longer on MY blog. The second one, with some intervention from my husband was fabulous! It was even better the next day because all the flavors were melding together. Soooo Good! So, I'll let you know how this one goes.

Chewy Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsps. baking soda
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheet. (I used a cookie sheet with a silpat liner)

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addiction. Add the salt and vanilla.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until fluffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I guess if you can't tell, I like to try mock recipes!

Panda Express Chow Mein, again

So, I'm going to try a new variation on the panda express chow mein recipe. Hopefully this one is much better. I'm going to try a few things too. We'll see!

1 T vegetable oil
1/4 c white onion, sliced thin
1/4 c Napa cabbage, sliced thin
1/4 c celery, chopped
1/8 c bean sprouts
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 T vegetable oil
1/4 c soy sauce
2 T water
1 T dark sesame oil
1 package Mie Noodles (Chinese style) boiled according to package directions

Place 1 T vegetable oil in wok or non-stick skillet and heat to 375 degrees. Stir fry onion, cabbage, celery, bean sprouts, ginger, pepper flakes and garlic until cabbage is wilted and garlic is fragrant (1-2 minutes). Stir in soy sauce and water. Add cooked, drained pasta and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and toss with sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Chicken Curry

• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 c. chicken broth
• 1/4 - 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1 1/2 c. cooked chicken chunks
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• cooked rice

Mix and heat soup, sugar and broth. Combine curry powder and ginger in a small bowl; add about 1/4 cup of soup mixture to it and stir out the lumps. Pour into soup. Add chicken and lemon juice; heat through. Serve over rice and top as desired.

I love this recipe and it is sooo quick and easy to make. I also like to add onions to the sauce. Here are some of our favorite toppings.

Peanuts, cashews, apples, mandarin oranges, coconut, pineapple, crumbled bacon, banana, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, shredded cheese, chinese noodles and raisins.

Beef Back Ribs

I like to go shopping at Smiths. They have a section of discount meats and I have to say that on occasion there are some real gems in there. About a month ago I found a package of Beef Back ribs for like $4.00. When I got home they went straight into the freezer and I'm making them tonight. I'm really excited about them too! I went in search of ways to cook them and I found Alton Brown's method for Baby Back Ribs intriguing, so I'm using it for my beef back ribs, because I can. You can see his recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/who-loves-ya-baby-back-recipe/index.htmlBelow is the recipe I put together.

Beef Back Ribs

Rub:

• 8 parts brown sugar
• 3 parts salt
• 1 part chili powder
• 1 part your stuff

In my stuff I put garlic powder, paprika, old bay, ginger, onion powder and pepper

Braising Liquid:

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 TBS. rice wine vinegar (because it's what I had)
• 2 TBS. soy sauce (because I didn't have worchestershire sauce)
• 2 TBS. corn syrup (because I didn't have honey, personally I think honey would be leaps and bounds better but, I had to work with what I had)
• 2 tsp. garlic powder

First lay down aluminum foil shiny side down and lay your rib on it. Pat your rub on to both sides of the ribs and don't be a pansy about it either. I wrapped them up in the foil, so I could open them again later, and let them rest for 1 hour. While they were resting I made the braising liquid and microwaved it for 1 minute on high. Then I poured half the liquid into each package of ribs. Then I baked them at 250 degress for 2 1/2 hours. After that I put the packages of ribs over a sauce pan and punched holes in the foil and let the liquid drain into a sauce pan. I put the sauce pan on the stove on a med/low heat and let it reduce, about half. In AB's recipe it says to brush the ribs with the sauce and then placed them on a baking sheet in the oven under the broiler and let it caramelize. Then cut the ribs into sections and toss in a bowl with some of the sauce to coat. I just drizzled a little bit of the sauce on them and then ate it with a side of mashed potatoes and a piece of bread. Really good. It was really hard to eat but, really delicious. :)

Peanut Butter cheesecake

CRUST:

1-cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4-cup Oreo cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3-cup butter, melted

FILLING:
1/4-cup creamy peanut butter
3 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1-cup sour cream
1-cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup fudge topping
4 chilled Reese's peanut butter cups


Preheat oven to 375° F. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, chocolate cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press the crumbs firmly over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. When the crust is cooled, spread the peanut butter in a circle in the center of the crust. Leave about an inch margin all around. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove 1 cup of cream cheese mixture and pour it into a smaller bowl. Add the chocolate syrup to this mixture and combine. Pour the large bowl of cream cheese filling into the pan and spread it evenly over the crust. Pour the chocolate filling onto the other filling and spread it out. Using the tip of a knife, swirl the chocolate into the white filling beneath it. A couple of passes should be enough. Lower the temperature to 350° F. Bake the cheesecake for 60 to 70 minutes or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow it to cool. When the cheesecake is completely cool, soften the fudge topping in microwave for 45 seconds. Spread it evenly over the cheesecake. Chop peanut butter cups into small chunks. Sprinkle with chunks of peanut buttercups over top.

This recipe is courtesy of "Grammy Tammy". It is Uncle Craigy's favorite. I have my cream cheese softening right now to try my hand at it! yay!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 4 teaspoons water
• 1 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained with 1/2 cup reserved juice
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

I made this recipe once, Casey said it was a keeper. I made a couple of alterations: I used 1 whole green pepper and one small yellow onion. I also added about a tablespoon more vinegar because I didn't think it was quite tangy enough.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Season chicken strips and add to pan. Brown chicken and remove to plate. Add red and green peppers and cook for 1 minute. Stir in pineapple chunks, juice, sugar, vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce begins to reduce. Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring liquid to a simmer. Stir in chicken strips and cook for 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

Ice Cream

Here is my "famous" ice cream recipe. This is just the base, I'll also include some of my favorite variations.

Ice Cream Base

4 Large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

Slowly heat milk over a med/low heat in a sauce pan. While that is heating up, whisk together the eggs yolks and sugar. You'll want to whisk it until it is a light yellow in color and looks kind of "marshmallow..y". Slowly, spoonful by spoonful, add the hot/warm milk to the eggs, whisking all the while. Do it as slowly as you can possibly stand. This slowly heats up the eggs so they don't curdle. You don't want to make scrambled eggs. When you have about half to three quarters of the hot milk added to the eggs slowly pour the egg mixture back into the warm milk and continue to heat it, stirring continuously, until it just begins to thicken. When you see the first bubble from boiling, take it off the heat and stir for about another minute to keep it moving off the hot metal. Place this hot mixture in plastic container and place in the fridge to cool. When the mixture is cool you can combine the mixture and the cream in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions.

My favorite combo's

1/2 cocoa
Add it to the hot egg/milk mixture while it's cooking to melt the cocoa fat in it.
To the cocoa you can add practically anything you want! My favorite is mint chips, sooo yummy. Though, I recommend chopping the mint chips so you have small chunks.

1 lb strawberries
Blend in the blender w/ about 1/4 c. sugar (the sugar keep the strawberries from harding like rocks)

1lb raspberries
prepare the same way as the strawberries

1 c. yellow cake mix
Just add it to the base and cream while it's mixing in the ice cream maker. YES, this is how the get that famous better batter flavor at your favorite Cold Stone or Maggie Moo's! (I haven't yet discovered the secret to dark chocolate)

1. c. chocolate cake mix
Or you can just make chocolate ice cream and add a yellow cake mix, another secret recipe!!!

HINT:
The most important thing, never forget this, you can forget everything else you know about making ice cream, EXCEPT this: make sure your base is as cold as it can get before freezing before you add it to the mixer. The colder the base, the smaller the ice crystals, the creamier the ice cream