Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar

I had been missing a chocolate chip cookie bar and wondered if my regular recipe would work after I made it gluten free - the results were delicious! Recipe found here.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups Pamela's flour

1 cup Manini's flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

HOW TO PREPARE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flours, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan or 13 x 9-inch pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Pumpkin-Banana Bread

Don't you love pumpkin? I know that I do. This recipe is phenomenal. I'm not kidding. It's so delicious and now I have adapted it to be gluten-free.

Pumpkin-Banana Bread*
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup bananas, mashed, or 3 small jars banana baby food
¾ cup pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Better Batter flour
3/4 cup Manini's flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
½ tsp salt

HOW TO PREPARE:
Mix together. Grease and sugar** the loaf pans. Mix together sugars and shortening. Add eggs, bananas, pumpkin, & vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Pour batter into loaf pans - 2/3rds full and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

*These also are delicious as muffins!

**After you have sprayed the pan with non-stick spray, sprinkle sugar on the bottom and sides of the pan. Once you try this, you'll never go back!

Poached Eggs Cocotte with Cream

To be honest, I don't know what "cocotte" means and perhaps saying "poached" undoes it's meaning, but we'll just go with it for now. I saw this recipe and thought it sounded interesting. The only catch - it called for ramekins to prepare it in...which I don't have...and I didn't want to just go out and buy them, so I adapted this for a poached egg pan, which I DO own. The result was creamy and delicious!

Yeah, I forgot to take a picture and when I remembered, this was all that was left after making 8 eggs. Oh well. You get the idea, right?

Poached Eggs Cocotte with Cream
INGREDIENTS:
Butter
Kosher Salt
Ground pepper
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
6 tbsp heavy cream
6 eggs

HOW TO PREPARE:
Use small ramekins* or souffle molds holding no more than 1/2 cup. Butter the molds and sprinkle salt, pepper and parsley in the bottom of each. Add 1 tbsp of heavy cream to each ramekin and break an egg on top.

Place the ramekins side by side in a large skillet and surround them with enough tepid water to come partway up the sides. Cover, bring the water to a boil and let cook for approximately 4 minutes, until the eggs are barely set and still sock in the center.

Remove the ramekins from the skillet. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, and parsley, if desired. Serve.

*Or try with a poached egg pan!

Salted Potatoes

My husband and I lived in upstate New York our first summer of marriage. We sampled salted potatoes there and they were delicious! Recently, I wanted to recreate them and came across this recipe. There is an entertaining video below that goes along with it. Enjoy!

Salted Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of small new potatoes, scrubbed
5 cups of water
1/2 cup salt
melted butter

HOW TO PREPARE:
Put potatoes in large saucepan. Cover with salt and then cold water. Turn over high heat. Boil for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Drain from water and serve with melted butter. Yields 6 servings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IochM2MoIDA

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken and Indian Rice

I made this tonight and it was a hit! I was nervous about cooking with turmeric, but it was delicious. 

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 ½ pounds)

¾ cup plain greek yogurt

1 lemon, zested and then juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ tbsp minced onion

¼ cup olive oil

1 ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp turmeric

Cilantro, for garnish (optional)

HOW TO PREPARE:

1. Rinse chicken thighs in cold water and pat dry. Trim off excess fat, if necessary, and place chicken in a large, heavy duty ziplock bag. 

2. Place all remaining ingredients (except for cilantro) in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth and then pour into the ziplock bag with the chicken. Toss to coat all chicken pieces. Place in the fridge and marinate from 8-24 hours. 

3. Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil grill grates to avoid sticking. Place chicken on grill and close lid. Cook 4-6 minutes per side. 

Indian Rice

INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp minced onion

2 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp curry powder

1 cup jasmine rice

HOW TO PREPARE:

1. Heat medium-sized pot over medium heat. Sauté onion in olive oil. Add water and bouillon cubes until boiling. Use a spoon to break up bouillon cubes.

2. Add turmeric, curry powder, and rice and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.  

Slow Cooker Taco Meat

This is super easy and goes beautifully in taco salads or as tacos. I like to also make crockpot refried beans when I make this recipe, in separate crockpots, of course.


Photo and recipe found here.


Slow Cooker Taco Meat
INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs ground meat of choice
2 pkg taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water

HOW TO PREPARE:
Around lunchtime, add all ingredients to slow cooker. Cook on high for several hours, give the meat a stir and break it up occasionally. Turn to low after the meat looks like it is mostly cooked. That's it!

Chocolate Mousse Cake

I made this for my birthday this year. It was a hit amongst all my family! I found the recipe here.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

My photo.

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE

1 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free flour

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

11 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

3/8 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sour cream, at room temperature

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg + 1 egg yolk (out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

1/2 cup + 1 TBSP warm water (about 95°F)

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup warm water

10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

HOW TO PREPARE:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round springform baking pan and set it aside.

Make the cake. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the sour cream, oil, eggs and water, mixing to combine after each addition. The batter should be very thickly pourable. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth into an even layer and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean or with a few moist crumbs attached (about 30 minutes). Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate mousse. In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder into the warm water until it dissolves completely. Set it aside. In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the chopped chocolate and chopped butter, and place over a small saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Melt the chocolate and butter over the simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.  Alternatively, you can melt them together in the microwave in short, 30-second bursts, stirring well in between. Remove the melted chocolate and butter, and whisk the cocoa powder dissolved in water into it until smooth. Set the bowl aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners’ sugar, and whip again until stiff, shiny peaks form. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl of whipped cream slowly, carefully folding the ingredients together and taking care not to deflate the whipped cream more than necessary. Fold until no white streaks remain.

Assemble the cake. Spoon the chocolate mousse onto the cake, and smooth the top. Refrigerate the cake until the chocolate mousse is set (about 2 hours). Slice and serve chilled.