Momma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have such wonderful memories of baking with my mom.  I miss her so much at this time of year, but I'm thankful that she shared her love of cooking and baking with me.  I can't remember a time when I wasn't in the kitchen helping my mom (& dad).  This is my all-time favorite cookie and recipe.  They make a lovely, crunchy cookie.

Mom's Toll House Cookies

**This recipe is doubled and makes a TON!**

Preheat oven to 375º.

Combine and set aside:
4-1/2 C All purpose flour
2 t baking soda
2 t salt  (I cut this in half to help make it more heart friendly)

Blend in mixer:
2 C Crisco
1 1/2 C brown sugar, very firmly packed
1 1/2 C sugar
2 t vanilla
1 t water
4 eggs at room temperature

Add:
1 to 1 1/2 C of chopped pecans or walnuts
1 large package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use 2 C)

Cream Crisco, sugars, vanilla, water and eggs until nice and creamy.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture a little bit at a time and mix well.  Scrape sides of bowl frequently.   Stir in chips and nuts.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 mins or until browned to your liking.

**I use a regular long teaspoon from my utensil drawer.  The smaller you make the cookies, the more cookies you get! ;)  I also refrigerate my dough in the fridge for several hours or overnight to keep cookies from spreading so much.  Lastly, I use the water displacement process to measure my Crisco.  If you use Crisco sticks, either use a couple of tablespoons less or increase your flour by about 1/4C to prevent spreading and pancake cookies.

Here's a treasure I pull out every Christmas.  This is from a cookbook my mom and her co-workers put together in 1987.  This is one of my most treasured possessions, and as you can see, much used.

Treasure Cookies

Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
HEAT oven to 375ºF. Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder in small bowl.
BEAT sweetened condensed milk and butter in large bowl until smooth.
ADD crumb mixture; mix well. Stir in coconut, chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheets.
BAKE 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

Amish Oven Fried Chicken

Amish Oven Fried Chicken

1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. butter
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. dried marjoram
8 or 9 pieces chicken

Place oil and butter in a shallow cooking pan and place in 375 degree oven to melt butter, set aside. In a large paper sack combine dry ingredients. Roll the chicken pieces 3 at a time in butter and oil then drop into a sack and shake to cover. Place on a plate until all pieces are coated. Leave any excess butter and oil in pan. Place chicken in the pan skin side down or its just as good if you remove all the skin first. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes with spatula, turn chicken pieces over and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until crust begins to bubble.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

I found this recipe online several years ago. It quickly became my favorite spaghetti sauce and is better than just plain canned and is quick and easy to whip up. The recipe calls for 2 pounds of ground beef, but I've used 1 pound with great results.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

2 pounds ground round (or 1 lb. ground beef + 1 lb. ground Italian Sausage)
1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, cut up (I put them in the blender)
6 ounces V-8 juice
1 (16 ounce) jar Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix (I use 1/2 pkg.)
1/2 cup grape jelly (I use about 3/4 cup)

In a large skillet, brown meat until pink color disappears.* Drain off liquid and crumble with fork or potato masher. Stir in tomatoes, V-9 juice, Prego, soup mix and grape jelly. Bring mixture to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 15-20 mins or until piping hot and to the desired thickness of sauce you like.

Yields enough sauce for 6 to 8 servings.

*I prefer to boil my ground beef. To do this, put about an inch or so of water in your skillet. Add ground beef and crumble. I also like to add about 1/4 of an onion, chopped, pepper, salt, and a bit of garlic powder. Bring to a boil and continue to break meat into small chunks. Boil on low heat until meat is done. Drain off water and rinse meat in a colander to further remove any excess grease. Place back into skillet and proceed with recipe.

Honeybun Cake

This is the most delicious cake I've tasted in a long time! I baked one a couple of days ago and took it to work. The empty pan came home with me that same night. I've never taken anything that disappeared so quickly!! You won't be disappointed with this cake, I can tell you that!

Honeybun Cake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cake mixture:
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 C sour cream
3/4 C vegetable oil
1/4 t cinnamon (approximately)
1/2 C sugar

Filling mixture:
1 C brown sugar (I used 1 C sugar + 1 T molasses and mixed well)
3 t (heaping) cinnamon
1 C chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Icing mixture:
6 T milk
2 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease (very, very well) a 13" x 9" cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine by hand the cake mix, eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well. If you have lumps, that's okay. Mix the filling mixture in a small bowl and set aside.

Spread half of the cake mixture in the bottom of the cake pan. Sprinkle half the filling mixture over the cake mixture. Make sure you get mixture over the entire cake. Then, place the rest of the cake mixture in the cake pan and top with the remaining filling mixture. Using a knife, swirl the cake mixtures until they're well blended.

Bake at 325º for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Approximately 5 minutes before cake is finished, mix the icing mixture together in a small bowl. Immediately upon removing cake from oven, pour icing over the hot cake. In order to cover the whole cake, you might need to tilt the cake. Let cool and eat warm or cold. It's supposedly better the next day, but I've yet to make one and have any left to eat the next day!

Mom's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is, was, and will always be a staple at every family holiday gathering. Amen.

This was one of my mom's best recipes ever and most requested dishes for family get togethers. I have no idea where the recipe came from, but I do know it's awesome! When I was younger, we'd always take 2 big casserole dishes of this to the family Thanksgiving get together at my grandmother's because my uncle (my mom's younger brother) and his kids could easily polish off half of one dish by themselves leaving hardly any for the rest of the family! Every once in awhile, I make it "just cuz"....just 'cuz I've got a hankering for it! Besides that, the husband loves it and it's SOOOOOOOOOOO good warmed up later or the next day.

It's best to use a clear glass baking dish for this, but if you don't have one, don't sweat it. The size of baking dish will determine how much macaroni you'll need, but sometimes the amount of macaroni you've cooked determines the size dish you'll need. Unfortunately, I've never measured the ingredients, so you'll have to forgive me for that.

Here we go! You'll need: a baking dish of your choice, elbow ronis, cheddar cheese (grated), a little bit of milk, BUTTER, and salt. Don't forget the butter!

In a large pot, bring salted water to boil. Pour in 6-8 (or more) CUPS of dry ronis and cook until slightly soft (al dente) as they'll bake a bit more in the oven. Or, you could be like me and just pour them in until you think you have enough. Drain & rinse ronis. When thoroughly rinsed and drained, and add about a tablespoon of olive oil to them to keep from sticking together and stir.

Decide what size baking dish you'll need. Take a stick of butter (margarine will work, too) and peel off half the wrapper. Holding onto the wrapped end and using the unwrapped end like a brush, liberally butter the bottom, corners, and sides of your baking dish.

Cover the bottom of your dish with a layer of ronis. Sprinkle salt over the top. Dot with butter. (Cut a pat of butter off the stick, then cut into fourths to make dots.)

Sprinkle grated cheese over the top. (Liberally)

Repeat layers finishing with cheese on top.

Carefully pour milk (anything from skim to whole milk works) over the top of the dish until it comes about 1/8"-1/4" up the side of the dish. Don't wait to stop pouring until you notice the milk level rising. Stop periodically and let the milk settle to the bottom before adding more. If you aren't using a see-through dish, take a knife and stick it down the side of the dish and gently pull back on the ronis until you can see the milk level. Too little milk and it'll be too dry. Too much milk and it won't all cook out before the top burns. It's a delicate balance.

Here's mine ready to go into the oven.



Bake at 350º on the middle rack in your oven until the milk has evaporated, everything's bubbling, and the top is lightly browned. Usually it's about 30-45 mins. If you're in a hurry, you can bake it at 425º, but keep an eye on it so that it doesn't get too brown on top and bottom. You can also assemble the night before, leave out the milk, and store covered in the refrigerator. Before popping it in the oven, add the milk and bake as normal.

Enjoy and don't blame me for the added pounds!

Skillet Chicken Fajitas

This is a simple, quick, easy way to prepare fajitas without needing to marinate or stand outside in the hot sun grilling. I don't have a strict recipe I follow, so forgive me for that.

To warm tortillas, place in a foil, sprinkle with water, and place in a 200º oven while you cook your meal. You can turn off the oven about 5 mins before the meat is finished cooking.

Chicken Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cleaned, rinsed, and cut into thin strips
1/2 onion, sliced thinly and divided into rings
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Ground Cumin
Cayenne (Crushed Red Pepper Flakes)
Olive Oil

Place about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet to warm. Add half the onions and half the garlic. Allow to start cooking. Place a layer of chicken strips in the skillet and sprinkle with seasonings to your taste. A little cumin, cayenne, and oregano go a long way! You can also add some jalapenos if you like it hot. Cook on one side til all the pink is gone from the meat, turn, and cook on the other side until brown. It takes only a few minutes. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding the second half of the onions and garlic and re-seasoning about half-way through.

Veggies:
1-1 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 whole red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, deseeded and sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Jalapenos (if you like it hot)

Throw the veggies into the skillet after you've cooked all your meat. Stir and cook until the veggies are crisp-tender and heated throughout. Add the meat back into the skillet, stir and mix together until the meat is warm. Serve on hot tortillas with your choice of toppings.

Toppings:
Grated cheese
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Diced Onions
Salsa
Guacamole
Jalapenos
Pico de Gallo
Sour Cream