Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Cookies

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Cookies

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces
Preztel Salt or Sea Salt (I didn't have this, but the cookies are great)

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and two types of sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and pretzels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. The cookies don't spread much when baking, so I flattened the cookies with my hand before baking. Bake for about 12-14 minutes. Allow them to cool for a couple minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

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TX Governor's Mansion Cookies

Texas Governor's Mansion Cookies
Originally: Laura Bush's recipe, but adapted slightly

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups quick rolled oats
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.  In a mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.  Gradually beat in the two types of sugar to combine.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each.  Beat in the vanilla.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the flour mixture until just combined.  Add the chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans. I ended up transferring everything to the largest mixing bowl I have -- because this dough is packed with stuff and takes up some space when everything is combined.

Using an ice cream scoop -- I used a medium or large cookie scoop and still had good sized cookies, level off the dough and place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake 13-15 minutes or until slightly underdone.  Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
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Rice Oriental

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This is a favorite from my childhood that is a homemade version since the Hamburger Helper folks stopped making it a few years ago... I'm shocked at how easy it was to make, but am thrilled to be able to make this for my family now!

Rice Oriental

1 lb ground beef
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/4 cup rice
water (depending on the type of rice you use)

Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Add the onion soup mix, garlic powder, black pepper, soy sauce, rice, and water... cover it, let it cook, and you're done! I served it with green beans to my family, but it would easily go with a salad or our Crunchy Coleslaw too.

* I mixed my spices and soup mix into the water before adding it to the pan so that I made sure there wouldn't be any dry clumps of the soup mix.

** IF you use Minute Rice or any 5 minute cooking instance rice -- use 1 1/4 cup of water or maybe 1 1/2 because I added a little bit more -- and let it cook for 5 minutes covered.

*** IF you use a long grain rice or a 20 minute cooking rice -- you'll use 4 cups of water. Let it cook for 20-30 minutes covered over medium heat, and you're ready to eat! Pin It Now!

M&M Cookies

M&M Cookies
Courtesy of my Grandmother

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb package) M&Ms

Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs and vanilla. Sift flour, soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet, and mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup of the M&Ms.Reserve the rest for decorating. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate the thop of each cookie with 2-3 M&Ms. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
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Grandmother's Sugar Cookies

Grandmother's Sugar Cookies

** This dough has to chill overnight

2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Add sifted dry ingredients a little bit at a time -- I added a 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well, and refrigerate overnight. Working in small batches, roll and cut into desired shapes on a lightly floured board. I put mine back in the refrigerator between rolling batches and while cookies were baking. Sprinkle with sugar if you aren't planning on frosting them. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. If baking 2 sheets of cookies -- switch the baking position about 1/2 way through the cooking time. Cool on cooling racks until room temperature.

** I almost always double the recipes for the cookies and frosting

Frosting:

1 unbeaten egg white
7/8 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cook in a double boiler for 7 minutes. Beat constantly. It is best to have 2 people working to frost the cookies because the frosting gets harder to work with as it cools. It may take up to over night to have the frosting set -- we placed ours under a fan for 4 hours and they were ready to stack in a cookie tin.

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Ginger Soy Chicken

Ginger Soy Chicken
Adapted from: EMeals

2 chicken breasts (we split ours down the middle length wise so that they are more like cutlets)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon shredded ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 cups prepared Mahatma Jasmine rice
4-6 stalks baby bok choy

** next time, I would use broccoli florets instead of the bok choy

Combine sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar into a large saute pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place the broccoli & chicken in the pan and cook 6-7 minutes on each side or until the juices run clear. Serve over the rice with the sauce from the pan.
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Carne Asada Tacos

 Carne Asada Tacos

Adapted from: EMeals

*** This needs 12-24 hours to marinate

2 lbs flat iron steak (flank steak or skirt steak would work too)

1/2 cup white vinegar

4 tablespoons soy sauce

5 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

3 limes

1/2 cup + 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into strips
2-3 avocados, diced
1-2 roma tomatoes, diced
corn tortillas
cilantro (optional)

Combine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, cumin, paprika, juice of 2 limes, and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a gallon size plastic baggie. Add the meat to the marinade and then let it marinate for 12-24 hours.

Grill or broil for 5-7 minutes per side, and then let it rest. Heat a little bit of butter or oil in a pan and saute onion until it starts to caramelize. Mix avocados, tomatoes, juice of one lime, 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, and cilantro if desired in a bowl. Slice the steak against the grain.

Assemble the tacos by adding some onion, meat, and a bit of the avocado salad on your corn tortillas. Enjoy! Pin It Now!