Never Flat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always on the lookout for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe--one that makes cookies that are chewy and soft in the middle and slightly crisp on the outside, and that don't get flat or seem too dense. I found this recipe when organizing my cookbooks/recipes this weekend, and decided to try it. I think my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie may be over--these cookies were SO yummy!

*Note: this makes a large batch, so feel free to half it if you want a smaller/normal sized batch. I rolled the extra dough into balls and froze them for later use.

Combine the following until creamy:
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 lb. (4 sticks) real butter (softened)
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla

Combine the following and then mix with the creamy mixture:
6 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 heaping cups (1 pkg.) chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

Oriental Chicken Salad

I don't usually eat large portions of salad, but I do when it's this kind!

Salad ingredients:
1-2 cooked chicken breasts, diced (I dice them when raw, marinade in a little teriyaki sauce, then saute in a skillet)
~1 1/2 heads lettuce, greens, spinach, etc.
1 can mandarin oranges
3 green onions, chopped (optional)
1 pkg. ramen noodles, uncooked
1 small pkg. sliced almonds

Dressing ingredients:
4 T sugar
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 T vinegar
1/3-1/2 cup salad oil (I use canola)

Combine dressing ingredients. Combine salad ingredients. Toss salad with dressing.

Whole Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from Kristin Free's bread-making class over a year ago. I've been making it frequently since then, and we all love it. Sadie will not eat store bought bread but she eats this. Also, Kristin's original recipe is four times this one--I cut it down to one loaf, because that's how much I make at a time and it fits in my bread maker.

1 1/4 cup warm-hot water
1/2 T yeast
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (I usually use white bread flour for the last cup and a 1/3 just to make it a little lighter)
1/6 cup oil
1/6 cup honey
1/2 T salt
1/2 T gluten (optional)
1/2 T dough enhancer (optional)
1/2 T lecithin (optional)

Measure ingredients into bread maker in the following order:
water, yeast, 1 cup flour, oil and honey, 1 cup flour, salt, 1 1/3 cups flour. Mix on "dough" setting. After cycle is complete, shape dough into a loaf, place in greased bread pan, and let rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Brush top of finished loaf with butter.

*More notes: For the oil and honey, I use a 1/3 cup measure and fill it half full with oil, then to the top with honey before dumping it all in. The honey slides right out that way and you don't have to scrape it.
I have never included the last three ingredients but I'd like to get them and see what kind of difference it makes.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is "the BOMB" according to my brother Ben. I had made a different tortilla soup and had him over for dinner. He said it was good (I thought it was really good), but my sister's tortilla soup was "the BOMB." So my curiousity got the best of me and I had to have her recipe and find out for myself. And it is excellent. Easily Adam's favorite soup.

2 C cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
1 15 oz. diced tomatoes, mostly drained
1/3-1/2 can of Hatch's green chile enchilada sauce (16 oz.) - this makes it a little spicy so you may want to add slowly little by little
4 oz. green chiles
15 oz. pinto beans (or I've used white or black), rinsed and drained
1 small onion, chopped (I sautee in butter till they're clear before I add)
2 T minced garlic
14 oz. can of chicken broth
15 oz. can of corn, drained
1 15 oz. can of cream of chicken
1 1/2 C water
2 t. chicken bouillion
1 t. cumin
1/2 t seasoned salt
1/2 t. salt
8-10 corn tortillas, cut up in small squares (I have used tortilla chips instead and they worked well)
*Sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese (to put on top of soup)

Dump all the ingredients in crockpot, except tortillas and the toppings (sour cream, chips, & cheese). Cook on low for 4 hours. Add tortillas for the last hour or so (they will mostly dissolve). OR you can cook on stove top for an hour (same thing...dump everything in) and add the tortillas once the soup is boiling. Garnish with sour cream, chips, & cheese!

EASY Peanut Butter Cookies

So easy and very good...you won't believe they only have 3 ingredients!

1 C chunky peanut butter (or creamy)
1 C. sugar
1 egg

Combine peanut butter, sugar and egg. Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. I always press my cookies down with my hand. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
*This recipe has been with me for a long time...probably because it's so easy to remember! :)

Buttermilk Pancakes

I make these probably once a week for dinner.

1 C buttermilk (or 1 C milk +1 T. vinegar)
1 t. salt
2 1/2 T oil
2 T. baking powder
2 1/2 T sugar
1 C. flour
1 egg

Mix together and let batter rise. Do not stir again. batter will be thick. Pour on griddle. Makes 12 small-medium pancakes.

Preparedness Tip

Preparedness Tip - Inexpensive Eggs for Food Storage:
Eggs are essential basic cooking ingredients, but have a short shelf life and powdered eggs are expensive. Wendy DeWitt, who created food storage recipes for the Mesa LDS cannery, said unflavored gelatin mixed with water makes inexpensive eggs, and cornbread I made with unflavored gelatin that was over 10 years old was delicious! 1 lb of gelatin will make 192 eggs (16 doz). It's much cheaper if you buy in bulk; I get mine from bulkfoods.com.

To Make One Egg: Stir 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin with 3 Tbsp cold water until dissolved, then add 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp very hot water and stir. Decrease liquid called for in your recipe by about one-fourth cup to compensate for the added water from the egg.