Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I first saw this recipe on Monday and I had full intentions of whipping up a batch that night. Laziness got the better of me though. I had a full weekend of cooking, baby-sitting four dogs by myself, cleaning my house, and oh yeah...getting my very first speeding ticket. I was spent and decided to wait a day or two to make them.

The plan was to make them last night so when I ran home for lunch yesterday I set out two sticks of butter, I placed them high up on the counter resting on top of several canisters. When I came home the butter was gone, vanished, no where to be found. I thought...maybe Daniel stuck them back in the fridge before he left for work. Nope, not in the fridge...where in God's name are they I asked myself, questioning whether or not I had really set them out? Reality hit me when I noticed Lennon wasn't his normal puppy self. He was a bit sluggish and did nothing but go back and forth from the living room to outside on the Florida room. For crying out loud, first it was pineapple, then loaves of bread, followed by about a cup of grease that I had drained from some ground beef...now it was butter. The dog ate the butter and the wrappers to boot without leaving a trace of his poor judgment on my counters.

Anyway, these cookies were pretty good. I thought they were a little bitter from too much cocoa powder so next time I think I will ease up on it.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies~
Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

2.) In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3.) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

This is the third food item that I have made that has required baking that has come out successfully. I didn't forget ingredients or skip important steps. Maybe I am starting to gain the patience I have been lacking in the baking department.

Banana Banana Bread

I had four very ripe bananas that I needed to use up quick or risk losing to the trash can. Of course whenever someone has bananas that need to be used ASAP what better to make with them than banana bread. I found this recipe off of allrecipes and it has thousands of reviews. I made it according to the directions and boy was it good with a nice cold glass of milk.

Banana Banana Bread~
Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Hope everyone enjoys. I think next time I am going to add a touch of cinnamon and a touch of vanilla extract.

I am off to make Daniel his chocolate chocolate chip cookies that got derailed yesterday due to the fact I have a one year old Great Dane that likes to eat sticks of butter at room temperature. He paid dearly for it last night...someone had a bad tummy ache!

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

Tonight to go along with the pasta salad that I made I decided to do grilled chicken. Normally I just marinate my chicken in italian dressing and then slather on some BBQ sauce while it finishes on the grill. I decided to try something different tonight so I searched on allrecipes and this is what I came up with.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken~
Ingredients:
1/3 c. dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
2 tbsp. mayo
1 tsp. steak sauce
4 chicken breasts

Directions:
1.) In a bowl mix together wet ingredients, add chicken and allow to marinate for 2 to 3 hours.
2.) Grill, using extra sauce to baste with periodically during the grilling process.


I doubled the recipe for 8 chicken breasts and I also omitted the mayo as I hadn't realized we didn't have any and I didn't want to use Miracle Whip. This chicken was really good although I thought it was a little too sweet. No one else agreed with me as they all thought it was perfectly fine.

Shout out to my Uncle Dan for manning the grill. I am intimated by the charcoal grill so he happily took over the reins!

Katie's Pasta Salad

Katie's Pasta Salad~
1 lb. bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced into quarters
1 16oz. bottle italian dressing
1 block colby cheese, cubed
1 cup pepperoni, quartered

Directions:
1.) Cook pasta according to the box, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside to cool.
2.) Chop all of your vegetables and add to a big bowl. Add pasta and gently toss.
3.) Toss in pepperoni and then mix in dressing. Tossing gently. Add colby cheese.
4.) Refrigerate for 4-8 hours.

I make this dish several times throughout the summer. It's great for BBQ's!! You can also use any sort of pasta that you have on hand.

Trail Mix Cookies

Trail Mix Cookies~

Ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries (I omitted these)

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 baking sheets.

2.) Beat applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.

3.) In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites until they are frothy and begin to firm up. Fold egg whites into applesauce mixture.

4.) Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, and cranberries.

5.) Drop by heaping teaspoons on prepared baking sheets.

6.) Bake cookies in preheated oven until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool.

These turned out so yummy. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I hope Daniel and his buddies enjoy them. We both had one last night to try them out and we both agreed...they are keepers. To make them extra healthy I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. I couldn't tell a difference.

Simply Amazing...

It's simply amazing how needing to go to the grocery puts a damper on blogging. After all, how can you blog about food when you have none at home? I hate going to the grocery by myself. Mainly because of the "what if I have to go to the bathroom while checking out" thing that races through my mind. It's just lovely what having Crohn's disease can do to a person's mind set. That is why 9 out of 10 times, Daniel must be present with me. Of course going during the week is out of the question because my Hubby works second shift and I of course work first and that leaves going to the grocery together simply impossible.

I finally broke down and went by myself last night like a big girl, only to grab some basics to get me through the next few days and plus to get Daniel some food for his kayaking trip. Can someone say tuna packs and banana chips...lol. Everything has to be packaged small and obviously can't require cooling or heating so he is going to be living off of tuna, beef jerky, and a few other things for the next three days. This while I sit back and enjoy the Memorial Day festivities...hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, pasta salad, cake, "cold" beverages. You have fun with your kayaking self sweetie, the boys and I will see you on Monday, HAHAHA! We'll do our best to save you a hot dog.

Anyway, while I am not posting any recipes with this particular entry, I wanted to warn everyone to buckle up because there are going to be quite a few posts over the course of the Memorial Day weekend. Starting with the homemade granola bars and trail mix cookies I am whipping up tonight for Daniel to take with him this weekend. My goal is to make him the cool kid with the yummy snacks that I kindly pack enough of so he can share with his pals. Nobody can accuse me of not loving my Husband by golly.

Be smart and safe this holiday weekend...I want to see posts from everyone on Tuesday!

Beer Butt Chicken and Roasted Potatoes

Since we didn't get finished with our rescue event until 4 o'clock today we decided to skip out on the family dinner. We had dogs to get home to and we were both worn out. I am not sure where this meal came from but this is what we decided to make. An excuse for Daniel to grill something.

Daniel's Beer Butt Chicken:
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1 can beer
Dry Rub


Directions:
1.) Rub down your chicken with your favorite dry rub, making sure that it is smeared in all the nooks and crannies.
2.) Take your beer can and set in the middle of your charcoal grill, make sure you pop the tab. Place chicken over the can of beer.
3.) Grill for about 2 hours, rotating the chicken every half an hour.

Katie's Roasted Potatoes~
Ingredients:
Dozen small red potatoes, diced up
salt
pepper
2 tbsp. rosemary
onion powder
extra virgin olive oil


Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) On a baking dish add potatoes and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, a good helping of salt, a couple of pinches of pepper, and about a 2 tsp. of onion powder. With your hands toss the potatoes.
3.) Bake for about an hour or until golden brown.