In a World of My Own: Casserole

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Holiday Baking: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Simply Delicious!

Starting new traditions can be fun. I love oatmeal cookies, and my boyfriend loves chocolate chip. So what do we have Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for Christmas. You could say it's magic. Give the people what they want. There is also plenty to share with friends and family and for holiday parties.

This recipe is a Nestle Toll House recipe.

Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies
Yields:48 cookies (4 dozen) - it yields at least 5 dozen
Prep:15 mins
Cooking:10 mins
Cooling:1 min

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) - I used less
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs _ I used extra large eggs
2 tablespoons milk - I used almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional) - I left these out
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels and nuts; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crispy cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The cookies fresh out of the oven.
You can tell I live in a little apartment. The kitchen is the size of a galley on a boat. The pantry was made out of a coat closet. How else do you make a small kitchen bigger?

Friday, January 18, 2013

Baked Yogurt Chicken

As you can see from many of my recipes I eat chicken like it were here, there and everywhere. Sometimes the recipes I choose to make have to do with what I have leftover in the pantry. Other times I love to explore the vast wasteland of gourmet ingredients I have yet to try. After all, food is an exploration in new flavors to tempt and tantalize your taste buds.

The chicken recipe can be found on page 139 that I made in today's blog which came from Best Recipes by Ceil Dyer. This recipe more than likely came from Dannon.

Baked Yogurt Chicken
Serves about 4
1 cut up chicken, 2-1/2 to 3 lbs or more
salt and pepper
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons paprika
2 cups Dannon Plain Yogurt (although I used Lit and Fit) Vanilla Flavor instead
1/3 lb fresh portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley
Wash chicken pieces and pat dry. Salt and pepper. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large pan and brown chicken on a medium high heat. While browning chicken butter a shallow baking dish. As chicken is browned take and place in buttered baking dish. Once all the chicken has been removed add flour and paprika to pan with grease. Mix well, do not leave pan on stove, take on and off frequently while mixing. Add yogurt and mix well on stove on a medium heat. Preheat oven to 325 F. Spoon sauce on chicken in buttered pan. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and add mushrooms and lemon juice. Cook for about a minute or so, then take and spoon over chicken and sauce. Cover baking dish and place in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until chicken is tender.