Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm inherently lazy.  Which makes baking cookies difficult.  I mean, you have to scoop each one individually  on a pan.  And then there's all that wait time while they're baking.  And then you have to scoop even more cookie dough onto a pan!  For whatever reason, I think eating straight cookie dough is kind of gross, but why does it take so much effort to bake the things?  If I didn't love dessert so much, I probably wouldn't bake at all.

I know I'm being whiny here, but, sadly, there's some truth in all this.  Which no doubt explains why these jumbo cookies have been my go-to recipe for such a long time.  With a minimal amount of time and effort, I can have a plate full of giant, soft, chewy cookies.  It's pretty magical.  And, because they are so jumbo-sized, I feel particularly free to add whatever goodies I want to them.  After  making dozens and dozens of these guys, using a variety of add-ins, I think my favorite combination so far is dark chocolate chips and crushed pretzels.  I think the bitterness of the dark chocolate really complements the sweet butter cookie, and the pretzels are a nice crunchy, slightly salty surprise.  Although don't get me wrong--plain chocolate chip is nothing short of fantastic.

Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Betty Crocker)
Printable Recipe
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen jumbo cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour (I typically use 1/4 cup white wheat flour.  You know, for health reasons.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or whatever add-ins you like)

Directions
1) Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in a large bowl or stand mixer.
2) Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.  Dough will be stiff.  Gently fold in chocolate chips (or whatever add-ins you're using).
3) Using a 1/4 cup as a guide, scoop six cookies at a time on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes, or until the centers are set and the edges are beginning to golden.  (For chewy and not crunchy cookies, do not overbake.)  Allow cookies to cool slightly before removing them to a wire rack until cool.  Enjoy!

Festive Vegetarian Stir-Fried Rice

I love introducing my kids to new foods (even if they don't always love it), and books are a great way to get them interested.  Many picture books about food also include recipes of some sort, which we usually try making before the book is due back at the library.  We've tried some such recipes, with varying success, but it is such a let down when the book you enjoy doesn't have a dynamite recipe to match.  In fact, this is the first time a recipe from a children's book has made it on the blog.  Because, seriously, this fried rice is fantastic!  It really puts my other fried rice attempts to shame.

I just love a good book.

Festive Vegetarian Stir-Fried Rice
(adapted from The Runaway Wok)
Printable Recipe
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 green onions, diced
3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cups cooked rice, cooled
3 tablespoons golden raisins
3 tablespoons soy sauce
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions
1) Beat eggs, green onions, and salt in medium bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat; swirl to coat pan. Add egg mixture; swirl to evenly cover bottom of pan. Cook, without stirring, for 30 to 40 seconds or until eggs are firm and brown on bottom. Turn eggs and brown other side. Cut eggs into small pieces with spatula. Remove from pan.
2) Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same pan. Add garlic; stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3) Stir in peas; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add bell pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in rice, dried cranberries, and soy sauce; cook, stirring constantly, until rice is heated through.
4) Return egg mixture to pan; mix well. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!

Nutella Butterscotch Marshmallow Crumble Bars

Did you read what this dessert is called?  It's got everything.  Nutella.  Butterscotch chips.  Mini marshmallows.  And crumbly cookie-like layers to hold all that goodness together. This is the kind of dessert that my son loves to make with me because it involves adding (and tasting) so many goodies.  They are, in a word, amazing.  

Nutella Butterscotch Marshmallow Crumble Bars
(from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
Printable Recipe
Makes about 16 bars

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened to cool room temperature
2 large eggs 

Filling:
3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil (leaving an overhang on each long side for easy removal of the bars after they have cooled) and lightly coat the foil with cooking spray. Set aside. 
2) In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Add the eggs and mix with your hands until the eggs are incorporated and the mixture forms a cohesive mass (it will still be slightly crumbly but should come together). Set aside 2 cups of the mixture. Press the remaining dough into the prepared pan and bake for 11-12 minutes until the dough starts to look slightly set. Do not overbake at this point since it will be baked again. 
3) While the crust is still hot, spoon dollops of Nutella over the top and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle marshmallows on top. Sprinkle on the butterscotch chips. Crumble the reserved dough over the top.
4) Bake 15-18 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the marshmallows are puffy and golden. Cool the bars in the pan. Use the foil overhangs to remove the bars and cut into pieces to serve.  Enjoy!

Chunky Vegetable Soup with Orzo

Sickness is a good excuse to make soup.  Not that I really need an excuse to make soup, but I do feel like my family has been sick quite a bit lately and this recipe has been my soup of choice.  It's hearty, comforting, and a cinch to make.  Perfect for those days when you are feeling under the weather.

Chunky Vegetable Soup with Orzo
(adapted from Apple a Day)
Printable Recipe
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced 
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon black pepper
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 pound potatoes, cut into one-inch cubes
1 (15 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounces) can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 cup uncooked orzo

Directions
1) Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender, about five minutes.
2) Add remaining ingredients except orzo and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
3) Increase heat to medium-high and add orzo. Cook, uncovered, for ten minutes or until orzo and all vegetables are cooked through.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Patties

One of the problems with being a mostly vegetarian, is that there are a lot of side dishes that I love eating that sometimes need a main dish to complete the meal.  No matter how many times I make twice-baked potatoes, my husband still insists they are not a complete meal on their own--even if I throw in some steamed corn or broccoli as sides to go with them.  It's frustrating.  But we're vegetarians (mostly), and I'm still not a TVP fan, so what's a girl to do?  Serve up a slab of tofu with her twice-baked potato?  I don't think so.

Enter quinoa patties.  These could definitely be a side dish, if you're so inclined, but put next to those other sides, they look downright hearty and, well, main dish-y.  At least, in the world I live in.  Plus, if you didn't already know, quinoa has complete protein in them!  Perfect!  These have great flavor, lend themselves to a variety of other dishes, and are so easily adaptable to whatever your tastes happen to be, that I know I'll be making them a lot in the future.

Quinoa Patties
(adapted from Mels Kitchen Cafe)
Printable Recipe
Makes about 9 patties

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa (cook in broth for more flavor), room temperature

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder 
1 teaspoon dried parsley 
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 
1/2 cup bread crumbs, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1) Combine the quinoa, eggs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the onion powder, dried parsley, garlic and cheese. Add the bread crumbs. Stir the mixture until combined. (If the mixture seems overly wet, add a tablespoon or two more of bread crumbs. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water or broth, letting it stand for about five minutes so the liquid can be somewhat absorbed.)
2) Using a 1/4 measuring cup as a guide, form quinoa into little patties.
3) In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until it is hot. Add a single layer of patties and cook until the bottoms are well-browned, about 5-7 minutes, lowering the heat as necessary to prevent burning or increasing heat if the patties are not browning well. Flip the patties and cook about 5 minutes more until the second side is golden brown. 
4) Remove from the skillet and repeat with the remaining patties, adding more olive oil to the pan, if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

Lentil Vegetable Soup

This is an easy, delicious soup that doesn't take an extra trip to the grocery store.  Unless you don't keep lentils in your pantry, which I didn't until we went vegetarian.  And, come to think of it, I don't usually keep leeks around either, so let's just forget my first sentence and start over.

What I mean to say is, when I read the work "vegetable" in a recipe title, I usually think "chock full of all sorts of veggies that I'll have to go search around the produce section for," but in this instance it really only means onion, leeks, carrots, and celery.  So calling this a "vegetable soup" seems like kind of a stretch to me.  However, the recipe originated from Ina Garten and can I really argue with her?  I don't think so.

Lentil Vegetable Soup
(Adapted from Food Network)
Printable Recipe
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils, sorted
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped, white part only
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoons pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 4 stalks celery, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 carrots, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1) In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

2) In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. 

3) Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through. 

4) Check the seasonings. Add the vinegar and serve hot, drizzled with additional olive oil, if desired, and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.  Enjoy!