Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Gigantes

I managed to make these cookies in the kitchen of the house I am renting, even though my landlady's electric mixer has ONE attachment. Try creaming butter and sugar with one beater attachment. I finally figured out that if I moved the beater as fast as I could clockwise, while the beater was spinning counterclockwise, that gave me enough mix to somewhat cream the butter and sugar. The mother of the family I gave them to said that they were the best cookies she had ever had. (Disclaimer: While she sounded sincere, I suspect that may have been a slight exaggeration.) On the other hand, the friend of my landlady, who I also gave one to in the morning had to go to the Emergency Room later that afternoon for severe pain in her abdomen which ended up not being appendicitis. They still don't know what it was. I think it was the cookie.

Here is the recipe, adapted slightly from here. (I also stole the picture from her site.)

Yield: 12 very gigante cookies

1 c. room temp butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/8 c. whole wheat flour
2 T milk
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
2 c. good chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350, spray or line sheets. With the electric mixer (with both attachments preferably), cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time and mix in milk. Mix in cocoa until well blended. Add flour, salt, baking powder and mix at low speed until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide into 12 portions. Roll into a ball, smoosh slightly if you please, bake 16-20 minutes and transfer to rack after 5-10. Enjoy with milk or make an ice cream sandwich out of them.

Hamburger and Dressing Casserole

This recipe is from an old (30 years?) cookbook published by our ward in Woods Cross.  Attribution for the recipe goes to Kristy Sullivan.

I made this recipe for the first time tonight and Ed and I both really enjoyed it. So, here goes:

Brown:  1 lb. hamburger, 1/2 chopped onion, and 1 tsp. salt.

Make the dressing by mixing together:
1/2 loaf white bread cut into cubes
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 tsp fresh garden sage, dried in the microwave and crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C melted butter

Mix 1/2 can condensed cream of chicken soup w/ 1/4 C water.

In a 9X13 casserole dish layer 1/2 of the hamburger mixture.  Put all of the dressing on top of the hamburger.  Pour the 1/2 can of chicken soup mixed with water over the dressing.  Sprinkle the remainder of the hamburger mixture over the soup-topped dressing.  Top with the remaining half can of soup.  The soup will be lumpy and not go on smoothly.  No problem.  Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

I served this with stewed tomatoes as a vegetable.  Ed had the idea to put some of the casserole on top of the tomatoes, like croutons.  It was great that way!

Enjoy!

When you want some chocolate to go with your chocolate...

Amy's Hot Fudge Sauce

Reheats well, you can bottle it and give it as a gift, (or how awesome would your emergency food storage be with this around?!) and it compliments angel food cake, cheese cake, almost any ice cream, and Ephraim's earlobe rather nicely. *Yum!*

1 bag or 2 c. chocolate pieces. My favorites are a nice, reputable dark chocolate (what I usually use) or milk chocolate chips.

1/2 c. butter

2/3 to 1 c. sugar, really to taste. I wouldn't go less than 2/3 c.

1 (10-12 oz.) can evaporated skim milk. ('Cause skim makes it low-fat.)

Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan. Add sugar and milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until boiling. Reduce heat to low boil and stir constantly 5-8 min. May be stored in fridge and reheats rapidly in microwave.

Optional flavorings: After boiling, you may add 1/4 c. peanut butter. You may also like it with cinnamon or a dash of hot pepper.

Grant Loaves

Here is the recipe for the bread that I have been making of late.  In my opinion it is about as easy to make as home-made yeast-risen bread can be.  There is no kneading and no double rise.  If you already had the whole wheat ground it would probably take less than 10 minutes to get them in the pans and into a warm oven for a quick 30-45 minute rise, followed by a baking time of about the same period. It doesn't produce the lightest bread in the world, and it won't last forever (I find after day three it's better to use it for french toast).  Nonetheless, the bread is very good with a nice nutty wheat flavor.  I also like the texture which is slightly chewy without being too dense.  In my opinion it is significantly better than the 5-minute-a-day bread that has been popular of late, and it takes much less time overall to put together.  Possibly the only drawback of the bread is that the recipe makes 3 loaves, which for most families would be hard to eat before it goes stale.  We usually freeze two of the loaves and take them out as we need them, which seems to work out fine.  A few days ago I used the last third of a loaf to make french toast and it was very possibly the best french toast I'v ever had.  You should really give this a try, especially if it's late at night and you don't have anything for sandwiches the next day.

Grant Loaves 

(Adapted from BREAD the breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter)

12 cups whole-wheat flour (I currently use the hard white winter wheat available from the church)

1tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dry active yeast

5 cups warm water (95-100 degrees F)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1) Place 1C of the warm water in a medium size bowl.  Sprinkle yeast over water and allow to sit for ~1 min.  Add brown sugar and stir, allowing yeast to proof for ~5 min.

2) In the mean time, prepare three loaf pans.  I usually just use cooking spray.  It's fast and works just as well as anything else.

3) Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yeast mixture and remaining 4 Cups of water.  Stir until evenly moist, about 1 min.  A large metal fork is my preferred instrument of choice for this step.  If I had a Bosch I'd use that instead.  

4)  Divide the dough evenly among the three pans and let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.  I usually err on the long side of the rise.  Ideally you want the bread to be about double, but as with all bread if you let it go too long it will fall.  When it's cold outside (and consequently in our house) I usually heat the oven at 'warm' and then turn off the oven before placing the bread inside.  I don't cover it while it's rising, as I don't really think there is a need when it's in the oven as air circulation is minimal.  (I would likely cover it if it was on the counter top.)

5) Bake the bread for 40 minutes at 400 degrees F.  I usually skip the pre-heating step and just turn the oven on near the end of the rise and set the timer for a little over (say 5 minutes) the prescribed bake time.  I do this because sometimes I find that the bread will fall during transfer to/from the oven and skipping preheating alleviates the need for that step.  The bread is done when it produces a hollow sound when tapped and should be a nicely browned color. Immediately turn out onto wire racks to cool.

Mixed dough in the bowl

Dough in the bowl

Risen dough in the oven, just before baking.

The finished product

Polka Dot Cookies

The most chocolaty chocolate cookie ever. This recipe was given to me from a friend (Melissa McLaughlin) years ago.

Disappointed to not be in school yet, Daphne requested we make a treat today while Hazel and Asher were gone; specifically chocolate, specifically cookies. This recipe came to mind. We didn't have the mint chips so we used normal semi-sweet and substituted the vanilla with mint extract. They were great!

She was so grateful we were making them she kept telling me, "thank you for making me chocolate cookies!" and then she'd kiss me. I like to think this is the origin of the chocolate kiss.

Polka Dot Cookies

2 c. (12 oz.) QUALITY semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

½ c. butter

1 ½ c. unsifted flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

3 eggs

½ c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla (or mint)

1 ½ - 2 c. green mint chips (or semi-sweet)

In double boiler melt chocolate chips and butter, stirring constantly, until smooth. Set aside to cool. In large bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla (or mint). Add baking soda, salt and flour, mix; then add green mint (or other) chips, mixing thoroughly.

Cover and chill for 10-15 min. until stiff. Preheat oven to 350 F. Drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 min. Cookies will be soft in centers but will set as they cool.

(drumroll) Eggplant Lasagna

I finally typed up this awesome vegetarian lasagna recipe! It is one of my signature recipes, truly perfected. Finally shared with you, my dear family, enjoy.

Also, I made this recipe for part of our Relief Society Freezer Meal Blitz. It works great for freezing. If possible thaw in fridge the day before baking. Otherwise, you have to let it sit for 1/2-1 hr. uncovered, then cover and bake about 30 min., then uncover and bake another 20-40 min. until heated through.

Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. milk

½ c. flour

½ c. bread crumbs

2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 large or 2 small eggplants

Salt

1 bottle marinara sauce (quart size)

1 c. lowfat cottage cheese

1 c. grated parmesan or parmesan blend

(not the powder)

Grated parmesan for top

1-2 thinly sliced tomatoes

High temp. oil of choice

Dip 1: 2 eggs, 2 Tbsp. milk

Dip 2: ½ c. flour, ½ c. bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning, pinch salt

Cut eggplant into ½ “ rounds and submerge in each dip, shaking off excess each time.

Fry eggplant in oil until soft and tender over med. heat.* (see note)

As they are cooking sprinkle with a little salt.

*The eggplant must be tender! Things that will help as well as reduce oil (eggplant is like a sponge and will absorb any oil you throw at it) are:

-Cut them thin and uniform

-Use a lid to help steam them soft

-Use a non-stick skillet

- When first placed in oiled pan, turn them immediately to ensure both sides are somewhat oiled. Add more oil as necessary.

As eggplant is cooking, stack in a 9x13 casserole dish like this:

Sprinkle of Parmesan

Marinara sauce

Thinly sliced tomato

Marinara sauce

Cheeses MIXED TOGETHER FIRST

Cooked eggplant (repeat as needed)

Marinara sauce

Cooked eggplant

Thin layer favorite Marinara sauce (all sauce layers are thin)

Bottom of pan

----

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min. or until bubbly and cheese is slightly browned.

Hearty Chicken and Chickpea Soup

This recipe was in a "Meatless Monday" article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Tony made it last night and it was yummy! It is supposed to be a power-food soup. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 C Water

1/2 C short-grain brown rice

1 T olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 C)

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps cleaned and thinly sliced (about 4 C) We used regular button mushrooms and they were good.

6 C homemade or reduced-sodium storebought chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 tsp dried rosemary crumbled (we used thyme and it was nice)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

10 oz baby spinach

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 oz grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 C)

1) In a large saucepan, bring the water to a rapid boil. Stir in brown rice and return to a boil; reduce heat to a shimmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid, 30 to 40 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth, rosemary, and red pepper flakes, then bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat.

3) Stir rice and chickpeas into broth mixture; return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and continue cooking 5 minutes more to allow flavors to blend.

4) Stir in spinach and cook, uncovered, until just wilted, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste, and season with pepper. Serve immediately, sprinkled with grated Parmesan and drizzled with more oil.

-From Power Foods (Clarkson Potter, 2010)

Martha Stewart Coconut Cookies

I made these today.  They were good.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/coconut-cookies

I used 3.5 cups of coconut in the food processor and rolled them in sugar instead of coconut.  They were chewy and excellently coconut-ey without the stringiness of a macaroon.  They're worth trying for sure.

A picture of the finished product:

The Parent food blog is born

Hello, family, after some discussion it has been suggested that we start a family food blog.  We all love to eat and cook, so why not share our positive food experiences with each other.  This is meant to be a more-or-less private family blog, so it's not about impressing others with how creative or beautiful or recipes or entries are, just an opportunity to share good recipes with each other.  Picture are a plus, but not necessary.  Now that it's up, it's up to all of you to fill it up with tasty, fun, and interesting recipes!