Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes a generous three to four dozen.
* stolen from my RTD photog's blog.

2 1/4 C. bread flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks of butter, melted
1/4 C. white sugar
1 1/4 C. packed dark brown sugar (light brown is ok too)
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract (use the good stuff)
1 whole egg. 1 egg yolk, 2 Tbs. whole milk
2 C. (1 pkg) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat melted butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until creamy. Add whole egg, egg yolk, and milk into mix, one at a time beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill (very important!). Drop by rounded teaspoon (or use an icecream scoop like I do) onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown- usually closer to 9 minutes. They will look slightly undercooked in the middle, but this is when they're just perfect. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Always start your cookies on a cool pan.

Jen's Spicy Tex-Mex Chili

(Serves at least 8)

2 cans Ro-tel Original
2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large white onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
1 cup frozen sweet corn
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1-3 jalepenos, seeded and diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 T ground cumin
3 T chili pepper
2 T garlic powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Fritos for serving

In a large crockpot add all the tomatos and vegetables. Brown the meat in a large skillet, add 1 T each of cumin, chili pepper and garlic, when cooked through add to the crock pot. Add as many jalepenos and cayenne pepper as desired to adjust the spice to your tastes. Add tomato paste to thicken the sauce. Add remaining spices as desired. Cook for at least 4 hours on low (I usually put the ingredients in late Friday night to serve for lunch while tailgating on Saturday.) Just before serving add cheddar cheese and stir gently as it starts to melt. I always serve it over Fritos with sour cream, raw onion, and more shredded cheese available for topping.

Baked Mac & Cheese

Serves 6-8 adults

• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1 lb cavatappi or elbow macaroni
• 1 qt. whole milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 4 cups Fontina cheese
• 2 cups extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
  
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup bread crumbs (3 slices, crusts removed)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to package, usually 6-8 minutes. Drain well and remove to a large casserole dish.
   
3. Heat the milk in a sauce pan but don't boil it.
   
4. In the pot used for the pasta, melt the stick of butter and add the flour. Whisk well until combined and smooth, cook about 2 minutes.
   
5. While wisking your butter/flour combo, add in the warm milk. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and is smooth.
6. Off the heat, add in your cheese, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine, then pour over your macaroni in the casserole dish and mix well.
7. Top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

This is an adaptation of Ina Garten's Mac and Cheese. She uses Gruyere and tops hers with tomatoes. I prefer Fontina and don't like tomatoes, so this is my version.

Amy's Easy Chili

Serves 6-8

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken
1 large can of red kidney beans
2 small cans of Zesty Chile diced tomatoes
1 large can of diced tomatoes with pepper/onion
1 packet chili powder and/or chili seasoning
random spices like oregano, salt, pepper, onion powder

Brown meat in large pot. Add in rinsed kidney beans and tomatoes with chili powder and other seasonings. You can add a can of water if you don't like it hearty. Simmer for 1-2 hours.

Everything Bars

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

3\4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

3\4 cup butterscotch chips

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press crumbs into bottom of 9x13-inch baking pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk over crumb mixture and spread to cover (be careful not to break up the crust). Layer evenly with chocolate chips butterscotch chips and nuts. Cover with coconut. Press down lightly with a fork.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool until firm. Cut into desired sized bars.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves 2-3

1/2 lb of spaghetti
1 T Olive Oil
2-3 ounces of pancetta or bacon, sliced or cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup freshly ground parmesan cheese
1/4 C cream or half and half
handful of parsley, chopped (to garnish)

*Make sure that the pasta is piping hot when combined with the sauce to cook the egg.

Bring pot of water to a boil and cook pasta.

In the mean time heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes, until it is cooked (but not crunchy). Add garlic and cook (just to soften, do not burn) - about 30 seconds.

Prepare the sauce: whisk together the egg, cheese, and cream in a small bowl.

Drain pasta and toss in saute pan with bacon and garlic, coating the pasta. Remove pan from heat. Add the sauce to pasta, tossing to coat. Heat from the pasta and pan will cook the egg. Serve and garnish with parsley.

I fell in love with carbonara in Greece. This is one of those recipes that literally takes 10 minutes to make and is deceptively scrumptious - people will think you spent a long time cooking this. We make this recipe about once a month (I'd do it more often, but we don't eat bacon very often).

Mexican Chicken Lasagna

Serves 4 adults

• 1 large chicken breast cut into small cubes
• 1 can of black or pinto beans (I used pintos)
  
• 5-6 soft taco sized tortillas
• 1 can of enchilada sauce
• 1-1.5 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1 small onion diced
  
• 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp cumin
  
• 1 Tbs taco seasoning
  
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 man to do the dishes afterward
  

1. Heat the beans (plus the liquid from the can) over medium heat. Stir in the cumin and let gently simmer while the chicken is cooking. When the chicken is almost done, mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.
   
2. In another pan, heat your vegetable oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and the garlic and saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the chicken and taco seasoning and cook until the chicken is done.
3. In an 8x8 in. casserole dish begin layering your lasagna. Pour in a small amount of enchilada sauce, then a tortilla, a scoop of beans, scoop of chicken, sprinkle of cheese and a little more sauce on top of that. Repeat until your chicken and beans are used up. Top final layer with another tortilla, the remaining sauce and the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and your lasagna looks bubbly.