chocolate chip cookies

i have a go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. this is not that recipe.  i wanted to try something different and my sister, krysta said that she loves this recipe. i thought that i would give these a try. they are really good!

chocolate chip cookies
from http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

3/4 c. crisco butter flavor shortening (original recipe calls for unsalted butter)

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Form dough into balls and drop onto a baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely. 

kung pao linguini with shrimp and broccoli

my husband loves my kung pao chicken recipe and would have me make it on a weekly basis if he had his way. i found this recipe and thought it would be a great way to lighten up kung pao and add healthy vegetables! next time i make this, i will definitely add more peppers. it needed more of a kick!


kung pao linguini with shrimp and broccoli
from http://blogchef.net/kung-pao-linguini-recipe/

1 lb uncooked linguini
1 lb broccoli florets
1 lb raw cleaned and deveined shrimp with tails removed
½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¾ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil + more for frying
¼ cup garlic (minced)
5-6 dried ancho chiles ( remove seeds if you don't want too spicy)
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add broccoli florets and linguini and cook according to package directions. When broccoli has turned bright green and linguini has finished cooking drain and set aside.
While noodles are cooking, toss shrimp with ½ cup of cornstarch until evenly coated. Heat oil in wok. Fry shrimp in batches until opaque and fully cooked. Drain on paper towels.

 In a bowl whisk together chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and sesame oil.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or fry pan over medium-high heat. Add chiles and fry until they start to blacken and pop. Add garlic and stir fry for 15 seconds. Pour the sauce mixture into the pan. Stir in peanuts. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened and bubbly.

In a serving bowl add cooked linguini, broccoli and shrimp. Add the kung pao sauce mixture and stir to coat. Enjoy!

bacon wrapped pork tenderloin

pork tenderloins were on sale at the super market by my house so i decided i would broaden my meat-cooking horizons and buy one. i found this recipe on pinterest after searching for something i can make with this big hunk of meat (i had my husband pick it up so i was in for a huge surprise when he came home with what looked like a leg. i was immediately turned off by the idea but i digress) anyways this was one of the most promising recipes that i found... of course- its wrapped in bacon. i have yet to find a recipe that my family hasn't liked that has bacon as one of its main ingredients.

i think one of the best things about this recipe is that it was super simple and tasted like it would be more complex. this is something that i would make for a holiday that i was hosting at my house!

Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin
from http://www.impartinggrace.com/2010/09/recipe-you-can-really-use.html

(i let it cook a little longer after this pic because my husband requires VERY CRISP bacon)

1 pork tenderloin

1 teaspoon (again, i dont measure i just sprinkled it all over the tenderloin) seasoning (McCormick's grill mates fiery five pepper blend is a personal favorite of mine that i use on EVERYTHING)

Bacon slices

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle seasoning over pork.

 

Wrap in bacon and secure with toothpicks.

Place pork on rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Bake at 425 for 35-45 minutes or until bacon is crisp. (Pork is ready when meat thermometer registers 155 degrees)

firecracker shrimp

this recipe is super simple and so good! i served this with white rice and roasted broccoli

Firecracker Shrimp
from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/firecracker-shrimp-part-2-the-good-part/

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined.
2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (Sriracha is the best!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 to 5 cloves garlic, pressed
Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, then add shrimp and marinate for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Grill until they are cooked through (opaque).

Skinny Coconut Shrimp

i know that it has been a while since i have posted and i have a lot of recipes backed up so i will get back on track with posting! well the weather has been great out here lately so we have been grilling a lot recently. i had my family over yesterday for a barbecue and i thought i would give this recipe a try!

Skinny Coconut Shrimp
from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/skinny-coconut-shrimp.html

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined ( i buy them already peeled and deveined and i must say this is such a time saver and sooo much cleaner)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp panko crumbs
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 large egg
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine coconut flakes and panko crumbs in a bowl. Place the flour in a small dish. Whisk egg in another bowl.

Dip the shrimp in the flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture.

Lay shrimp on the cookie sheet then spray the top of the shrimp with more cooking spray; bake in the middle rack for about 10 minutes. Turn shrimp over then cook another 6-7 minutes or until cooked though. Remove from oven and serve with dipping sauce. (I used sweet chili sauce but i would like to try something else next time)

cajun shrimp with remoulade sauce

this is definitely one of my all time favorite recipes! it is always a huge hit whenever i make it and bring it to any family function! and its pretty simple (as long as you can find already peeled and deveined raw shrimp). the first time i made this recipe for my in laws was for a party last year and everyone raved about it and asked me for the recipe shortly after!

cajun shrimp
from one of my mom's cookbook

1 lb raw shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 tbsp cajun seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh grated lemon peel

mix all ingredients together to evenly coat shrimp.

place shrimp on  hot grill pan over medium heat and cook until done- turning once.

(after tasting one, if  I don't think they are spicy enough, I put them in a bowl and sprinkle some cayenne pepper over them and shake it up.)

remoulade sauce:

1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp minced parsley
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
1 green onion, minced

mix all ingredients in bowl. cover and refrigerate.

bacon wrapped green beans

these are really good! green beans were on sale this week at the grocery store so we stocked up and now i'm looking for different green bean recipes to use the huge bag of them that my husband came home with (he knows how much i hate grocery shopping, so whenever he can, he does it for me!)

bacon wrapped green beans
from http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/08/bacon-wrapped-green-bean-bundles/

1 lb. green beans with the ends snapped off (this is an estimate... i used about 80 green beans, wrapping 5 beans with one slice bacon)
8 slices bacon, cut in half
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, briefly boil (blanch) the beans for 2-3 minutes until the beans have turned bright green. Quickly drain and rinse in cold water until the beans have cooled.

Divide green beans into 16 bundles and wrap with bacon slices. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake until bacon is to desired crispiness. For me, this took about 40 minutes.

I served these with sweet chili sauce and they went very well together!

easy 'cherries jubilee'

idont know that this is actually considered cherries jubilee but i dont kno what else to call it. i got this recipe from my mom, who go it from someone else. it only requires 3 ingredients and its super easy and delicious!

Easy 'Cherries Jubilee' (if anyone has another name for it, please let me know!)

1 can cherry pie filling
1 box white cake mix
4 tbsp melted butter

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

spread cherry pie filling in oven safe baking dish.

cover with white cake mix.

pour melted butter over cake mix. bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown on top.

let cool slightly and serve.

its that simple and its amzing!

rice with spinach

i have said before that i am not a huge fan of spinach, but i thought that i would give this a try because i like hiding vegetables in things. my husband really enjoyed this... he is still surprised every time he eats spinach and likes it! i was hoping that my kids would feel the same way, but they didn't. Oli wouldn't even try it because it was green and AJ has been following in his footsteps and doesn't touch anything green either (i knew this was a long shot for her because she doesn't like rice either)

rice with spinach
from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/06/rice-with-spinach.html

1 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken broth
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed
2 cloves garlic
4 tsp olive oil

In a small pot, heat 2 tsp oil. Add rice and saute about 1 minute. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook about  20 minutes. Shut flame off and keep covered another 5 minutes to let the steam finish cooking the rice.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan, heat remaining olive oil. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add spinach, mixing well for about 4 minutes.

Toss rice with spinach and serve.

sesame encrusted baked chicken

i was looking for some sort of chicken recipe that was something that i have done before. i came across this recipe this morning and read the reviews. they all said that this recipe was amazing. since i had all the ingredients on hand, i decided that i would try this for dinner tonight. my family loved it! (even my daughter ate it and she hardly ever eats any meat). this is definitely something that i will be making again. i used a sweet chili sauce to dip it in. my son loved it in ketchup and my husband said that he wants to try it with bbq sauce. the best part about this recipe is how simple it is! it literally only took 20 minutes from start to finish! i served with rice with spinach and roasted broccoli. it was a great, easy, healthy recipe that my family loved! the best part was my husband saying, "This is really good and I feel like we are eating really healthy."

sesame encrusted baked chicken
from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/08/sesame-encrusted-baked-chicken-tenders.html#more

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut in half
pepper to taste
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
6 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 tbsp panko breadcrumbs ( i didn't quite have enough so i added some regular breadcrumbs to the panko)
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick oil spray.

Combine the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl. In another bowl, combine sesame seeds and panko breadcrumbs.

Place chicken in the bowl with the oil and soy sauce, then into the sesame seed mixture to coat well.

Place on the baking sheet; lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray and bake 8 - 10 minutes. Turn over and cook another 4 - 5 minutes longer or until cooked through.