Tuesday, February 26, 2008

chocolate cookies

probably my favorite cookies when they have the cranberries in them.

2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
3/4 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C white sugar
1 C butter softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

optional:
white chocolate chips
dried cranberries

mix together dry ingredients (although i skip this- we don't have a dishwasher and i don't want to wash another bowl)

you know the cookie drill:
preheat oven to 350
blend sugars and butter, add eggs and vanilla, beat well.
add dry ingredients.
mix in whatever you want to add whatever you want- i have not tired nuts but that might be good too.

bake for 8-10 minutes- don't over bake, they will not be chewy or soft, and when you take them out of the oven let them cook for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then place on cookie rack thing to cool the rest of the way.
enjoy.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

stuffed peppers

i promise i still cook. the fear of missy kicking me off of this blog (i kid, i kid...) has motivated me to add a few recipes.
we had these last night, they are so yummy. i'm posting the original recipe, but there are a lot of ()'s with how i change it ;) i can't stick to a recipe for the life of me.

6 med-large peppers, any color (although i use three- tell you why in the directions)
2 cups rice (i use half brown, half white)
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb. sausage (i use half or more of the frozen jimmy dean HOT)
2 cloves garlic, finley chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tomatoe diced
4 tbsp white wine (i use water)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed
6 tbsp parmesan
2 tbsp itallian spices
salt and pepper to taste

1. cut the tops off of the peppers. (this is where i do it differently, because sometimes a whole pepper is just too much, even for a big pepper fan. i like to cut the peppers vertically and fill them really full with the stuffing. that way you get the great pepper taste without getting a pepper overload.) scoop out the seeds and unwanted insides. blanch in a large pan of boiling water for 3-4 minutes and place on paper towel, top down to dry.

2. boil the rice according to the istructions but drain and rinse in cold water 3 minutes before reccomended cooking time is up. (i have done it this way and i have just cooled it all the way in a rice cooker and it made no difference, so save yourself some trouble!)

3. cook sausage and drain grease.

4. in a large frying pan heat oil and saute onion till soft. add garlic, tomatoe, and water and cook for 5 minutes.

5. preheat oven to 375. remove mixture from heat. in a large bowl stir together mixture, sausage, rice, spices, motzzarella and 4 tbsp of parmesan. season with salt and pepper.

6. stuff peppers. sprinkle tops with remaining parmesan and drizzle with a little oil.

7. arrange peppers in shallow baking dish, and pour in enough water to come up1/4 inch on the sides of the peppers. bake for 25 minutes.

it sounds like a project, but it really is super good and is not that hard. i get the package of mulit-colored peppers from costco and vary the colors when i make it. you can add whatever, if i have basil i add some of that, and sometimes i like to add spinach too.