Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love to bake cookies and have been looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe since I was like 12 years old. Looking back I think to myself how patient my mother was with me when I messed up and wasted all those ingredients. Well, I think I finally found THE recipe! I found this recipe on the internet on the Betty Crocker website! (That Betty knows what she's doing!) I used the recipe that I found and the cookies turned out beautifully! (I also think my new mixer helped a lot.) I have taken the cookies to a few play dates and have made them for family and they have passed the taste test! My hubby even likes to eat the dough, although I wouldn't recommend it since it has raw egg.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I added this)
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring (I added this as well)
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use slightly less than this)
1 cup chocolate chips (I cut the original amount in half)
(I did make a few adjustments to the recipe. You can find the original recipe here.)

Cream the butter, sugars, vanilla, butter flavoring, and egg.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until well blended.

Add the chocolate chips. I stir them in with a fork or a spoon.

Scoop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I love using my cookie scoop. The cookies bake more evenly! Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown in an oven that has been preheated to 375 degrees.

Transfer to a cooling rack to cool, then enjoy!

Happy baking!

Fried Rice

We love rice in our house! I made this recipe for fried rice one night when we were looking for a different side dish. Now I make it several times a month!

Fried Rice
Cooked brown rice, enough for four servings (we like brown and instant is best!)
1/8 cup soy sauce
4 TBSP butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
chopped onion, to taste
3-4 eggs, whisked (we like LOTS of egg in ours!)
In a pan, melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic powder, and pepper and cook till the onions start to get transparent.

Add the rice, parsley, and soy sauce, heat through.

Move all the rice to one side of the pan and add your eggs. cook and stir the eggs on their side until they are done.

Mix the cooked eggs through the rice and serve!

Feel free to add anything that you like! You can add chicken, beef, or pork. You can add vegetables such as peas, carrots, or corn. You can add whatever is in season or what you have in your garden! I have added banana peppers and asparagus in the past.

Happy cooking!

Our Neighborhood Friend

We have a new friend in the neighborhood! While getting ready this morning I saw him out the window. Have you ever seen a squirrel with white paws and a white tail? (Are they called paws on squirrels?) I think he's neat! Holly sure likes to watch him out the window! Anyways, I got some pictures this morning of our new frolicking friend and thought I'd share. Here is the best one, but I still apologize for the poor quality!

our new friend, aka Rascal

Have a great Thursday!

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

I mad a major fail in the kitchen the other night! I mean major. While cooking the potatoes for some potato salad, I overcooked them. They were mashed potatoes when I drained them and I didn't even have to mash them! Luckily I had some more potatoes that I cooked for my salad and I used the mashed potatoes for one of our favorite side dishes, twice baked mashed potatoes.

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
2 lbs potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 - 1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 cup shredded cheese
chopped onion, to taste
2 - 3 strips cooked and crumbled bacon
salt and pepper, to taste
Cook and mash potatoes. Add sour cream, milk, butter, and 1/2 the cheese and stir. Add the bacon, onion, salt, and pepper. Put in a small greased casserole dish and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about a half hour. I almost always top with chives, and I just use the freeze dried ones you get in the spice aisle. (But as you can see I did not have any the night I made this and took the picture.)

Happy cooking!

Easy Fried Chicken

At my house we eat a lot of beef and pork, in case you haven't noticed yet. But I love chicken! A few times every month I try to get in some chicken dishes. We even bought some whole chickens from an area farmer. They are delish!

Last night it I made fried chicken. It takes a little time to do but both my hubby and I love it! Here is the recipe that I use. This is another recipe that I usually don't measure but I measured it last night so that I could share it! This recipe is for one whole chicken.

Easy Fried Chicken
In a large resealable plastic bag, mix together the following:
2 cups flour
1 TBSP garlic powder
1TBSP onion powder
1/2 TBSP paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning

In a shallow bowl, mix 1 egg, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup flour. Add some pepper. I have also used beer or water in place of the water.

Coat the chicken with the egg mixture then put it in the bag and shake until it is coated with the seasoned flour mixture.

Fry in oil that has been preheated to 375 degrees.

Fry until juices run clear. You never want to eat chicken undercooked!

Happy cooking (and eating)!

Beef, It's what's for dinner!

My husband raises cattle and we are proud of it! I am always looking for new beef recipes to try. I like to shake it up once in a while and try new things. The Iowa Beef Industry Council has a great website with lots and lots of great recipes. There is even an interactive meat case that takes you to another site where you pick out your cut of meat and look at recommendations on how to cook it. Very cool!

There are tons of other resources available. You can read information about how cattle is raised and meet real cattle farmers in Iowa. There are resources for teachers to use with their students in classrooms. There is also a link to information on beef safety and nutrition. I encourage you to visit this website and see what beef is all about!

Country Fried Steaks

When we have our beef processed at the locker we almost always get minute steaks. Sometimes I cube them and use them in soups and chili. Most of the time I make country fried steak. I have my own recipe for country fried steaks but they never seem to turn out well so I searched for a new recipe to try. I found this recipe at the Taste of Home website and decided to try it out.

photo from www.tasteofhome.com

 So here is how it turned out. I coated my steaks. I always just used to use flour and this recipe calls to mix in some cornmeal. Great idea!

I fried them. I definitely think that the cornmeal made a huge difference! The flour coating I used just came right off in the pan. The cornmeal made them really crispy, too. And I always have to use my cast iron skillet. That's how I cook around here.

I did stray from the recipe a tad. I used the same pan for frying to make the gravy instead of using a sauce pan. Less dishes! Plus you get all the good crispy pieces from frying.

And I had a great supper. We almost always eat rice with this dish instead of mashed potatoes. It really is delicious with the gravy.

Would I make this again?

I think so!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I absolutely adore carbs. My hubby says that I am a carboholic. I have to agree. I LOVE pasta! One of my favorites is spaghetti (If I'm choosing favorites!) And I can't have spaghetti without meatballs. This recipe is one of those family recipes that doesn't really have a recipe. It's just a little of this and a little of that, but I thought I'd share anyway. I always cook the meatballs and sauce in the same pan.

For the meatballs you need:
1 pound ground beef or pork (I actually prefer the pork lately)
1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 egg
minced garlic, to taste
Crush the saltine crackers. Mix the crackers with the meat, egg, and garlic. Roll into balls and fry in olive oil until cooked through. Remove from the pan.

Then start the sauce. You need:
3 small cans tomato paste
4 tomato paste cans of water
pinch of sugar
bay leaves
dash of hot sauce
salt
pepper
italian seasoning
basil
oregano
parmesan cheese
First I started out by sauteing onions in the grease from the meatballs.

Then I added all the rest of the ingredients for the sauce.

Once it is mixed through add the meatballs back in and simmer for about an hour.

Serve with spaghetti and garlic bread (more carbs!) Happy cooking!