Chocolate Valentine Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day! I made this today to mark the occasion and I was pleasantly surprised -- they are absolutely delicious! Very moist and soft - just the way I like cookies!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder and salt; set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour mixture at low speed. Roll the dough on a lightly floured and cocoa-ed surface. Cut the cookies with a round cutter (or whatever cookie-cutter you want!)

Freeze cut cookies five minutes. Bake 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

To be festive, I iced the cookies with X's, O's, and hearts, and then sprinkled decorative sugar crystals on the icing. You can make these for any occasion and decorate them however you choose. I'm trying to think of an excuse of when to make them next!

Crock Pot Pizza

This was pretty good and spiced up one of our week night dinners. It was also my first time to use my crock-pot so I had fun making it...easily amused, I know...

Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 oz) noodles...I used an assortment of shells, bow-ties, and egg noodles
• 1.5 pounds ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
• 1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 package (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until done; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning. I also added in some pizza seasoning I had on hand and a sprinkle of fennel seeds.

Coat crockpot with cooking spray. Spread a third of the meat sauce in the bottom. Cover with a third of the noodles and pepperoni.

Sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Repeat layers twice. I also put a sprinkle of green onions on top to give it some color and extra flavor. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Homemade Pesto

This is not really a recipe. This is the outcome of my husband eating leftovers one night and I wanted something other than cereal. That's a lie...I don't eat cereal. I guess it's the outcome of me not wanting to eat mac & cheese, which is what I'll eat if my husband goes for the leftovers. Cereal just sounded healthier....

So I've seen pesto made on tv a million times and I've always wanted to try it...

I had some basil and parsley in my fridge that weren't going to last much longer so I put it all in my food processor (thanks mom!), threw in some pecans, garlic, parmesan cheese and gave it a whirl!

After this was all mixed together, I streamed in some Olive Oil as the food processor was still turned on and ta daa - pesto!

Beer Bread

This is my mom's *secret* beer bread recipe. It's the best bread ever! Just a warning though...this bread will not last long. Trust me.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bottle of beer
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9X5 loaf pan. Stir the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Open the beer and add it all at once. It will foam up, but stir just until combined. The batter will be lumpy - it's ok, that's how you want it. Pour into the pan and drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is crusty. Enjoy!

Chicken Piccata

I don't know about you, but I cook with chicken 9 times out of 10...I'm always looking for new ways to cook it. This is a great, FLAVORFUL recipe that really mixes things up.

Here's what you'll need for two servings:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts


• salt and pepper


• 1/2 cup flour


• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 tablespoon water


• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs


• olive oil


• 2 tablespoons butter


• freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 0r 2 lemons)


• 1/2 cup white wine


• Chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pound each chicken breast out to about 1/4-inch thick or so. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and lastly dip in the bread crumbs.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until browned. You still want to see some pink in the chicken...you're not fully cooking it in this step.

Now, place them on a sheet pan and bake for about 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes or so.

Off the heat, add the tablespoon of butter and swirl to combine. If you taste the sauce, it's going to be pretty lemony/tangy...but trust me. Put it on the chicken. It will be delicious!! So spoon on the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle on your fresh parsley. Cheers!

Chicken Hash Success

Ok so I know this is not the most appealing name - "hash..." but trust me, it's delish. It's Ina's.

Here's the recipe to serve 2+ leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on


• 8 basil leaves
  
• Olive Oil
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 3 tablespoons butter


• 1 pound potatoes, peeled and large diced (I used 3 small/medium ones)


• 1 yellow onion, chopped


• 1-2 red bell peppers, large diced


• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves


• 1/2 teaspoon paprika


• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  
• 2 minced scallions


• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 450.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached. Place 4 basil leaves under the skin of each chicken breast. Pull the skin over as much of the meat as possible so the chicken won't dry out. (I always buy boneless/skinless chicken breast...this was actually my first time to cook with the bones and skin...wow what a difference! It was sooo juicy and flavorful!) So go for the bones and skins on this recipe.

With your hands, rub each piece with lots of olive oil and sprinkle very generously with salt and pepper.

Bake the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until the skin is lightly browned and the chicken is just cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones. Remove the basil leaves and skin too. Cut the chicken in large dice pieces and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saute pan. Add the potatoes and onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Saute over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, until evenly browned and cooked through.
In a separate saute pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the red peppers, garlic, thyme, paprika, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and saute over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, until the edges of the peppers are seared.

Add the chicken and the pepper mixture to the potatoes and heat through. Here at the end I added a tad more salt and garlic to taste. Add the scallions and parsley, toss together and place on a serving platter. Serve and enjoy!

Jalapeno Blue Cheese Wedge

This is the absolute best salad ever!! I first had it at my parent's friends dinner party...I'm sitting there...eating this salad...thinking - how in the world am I going to get this recipe for this dressing?!? I don't even know this lady! I can't just immediately ask for her recipe...can I?


Thank goodness for my mom. She was there, and apparently eating her salad with the same thoughts...she however asked for the recipe. Sooo...I now have the super delicious recipe to share with you here...

Yes! It's in a jar!! It's Jalapeno Ranch dressing, and you find it in grocery stores in the refrigerated section of the produce section...you know, where they have the salads in the bags and all that other good stuff. Believe me, this does not taste like any store bought salad dressing...

So, cut a wedge of iceberg lettuce, drizzle this dressing over it, sprinkle some blue cheese and good bacon bits on top and you're all done. Enjoy.