New favorite cc cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbls. vanilla
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
1.5 cups Milk Chocolate Chips
3/4 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients. Mix in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes. (I make them big and cook them for about 16 minutes). Cookies might not look done but take them out anyways. Let them sit on pan for a few minutes before placing on cooling rack.

Dijon Pork Chops

Dijon Pork Chops

submitted by Erin

4 1/2 inch thick butterfly pork chops

6-7 T. flour

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 c. butter

2 T. finely chopped green onion

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 c. cold water

2/3 c. dry white wine (I used chicken broth, or water with bouillon)

fresh chives to garnish

Pound pork chops with a meat mallet to 1/4-inch thickness. (I skipped this step, fyi.) Combine 5 T. flour with pepper, seasoning salt, and poultry seasoning in shallow dish. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge chops in flour mixture and then brown in melted butter on both sides. Remove chops from skillet and set aside. Add green onion to skillet and cook until tender, about 1 minute. (I didn't have any green onion on hand, so I omitted this, but I'm sure it would have been even better with it.) Stir together wine (or broth) and mustard. Add to skillet and stir to combine with meat juices. Return chops to skillet. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 8-10 minutes or until tender. (I wrote in my recipe, "Check at 5 minutes" because it cooked faster than I had anticipated.) Remove chops to warm platter. Combine water and 1 T. flour in a small bowl and mix well. Add to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until thickened, about 1 minute. Pour sauce over chops and garnish with chives before serving.

Healthy and Hearty Chicken Quinoa Stew

www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

2 T extra virgin olive oil (I always skimp on this just a little)

1 large onion, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 Cups sweet pepper, chopped

1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced

64 oz chicken broth

15 oz can diced tomatoes

5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into 1" pieces (get the Yukon potatoes, it's worth the extra few dollars)

3 cups cooked quinoa

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

2 T Dijon Mustard

1 T Hot Sauce (Cholula brand is good)

Kosher Salt, fresh cracked black pepper, Garlic Salt (Lawry's is good), and Parsley to taste

1 1/2 cups fresh parsley chopped

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots, peppers, and zucchini until softened. This takes about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, and potatoes. Increase heat to high just until broth starts to boil Reduce to medium high and cook potatoes for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Reduce heat to low and stir in quinoa, chicken, dijon mustard, hot sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt, pepper, garlic salt. Stir in fresh parsley and simmer until ready to serve.

Butter simmered carrots

1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil (next time I'll try just 1 tablespoon, 2007: 1 tablespoon was more than fine, try 1 teaspoon, just a tiny bit for flavor)
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste (2007, I happily skipped both)
1 pound carrots (okay, okay, pre-peeled are fine, get the baby ones if possible)

Combine water, butter, sugar, salt and pepper and carrots in medium saucepan over MEDIUM HIGH (get a small head start by turning the stove on with water and butter, then adding other ingredients) and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to MEDIUM and cook for about 5 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat a bit, then cook, stirring occasionally, until water boils away and carrots are cooking in the butter or oil. Reduce the heat a bit and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are cooked.