Chocolate Chip Cookies

I make a version of Crisco's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie and it is fabulous. Seriously, I am not even kidding you. And it freezes well! But there are a couple of changes I make to it that make it fabulous. I'll note those below.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 1/2 cups butter blend ** (recipe is below)

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

3 1/4 cups flour

2 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, soda, and salt; mix well. Add flour and mix just until the dough comes together.

Add the chocolate chips and stir just to blend. Drop by cookie or ice cream scoops onto an insulated baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.

Cool 5 minutes before loosening from pan.

Makes a big bunch.

To freeze, simply wash out a large orange juice container, keeping the metal lid. Spoon/squash the cookie dough into the container, and seal with the metal lid. Freeze until ready for use; then simply slice off discs and either bake or quarter the discs and bake.

Jen's notes:

1. **Recipe for butter blend above: 1 lb. butter plus 1 cup olive oil. Place this in your mixer and whip until well blended and creamy. The more you whip, the more air you put into the mix and the lighter it will be. Use this instead of a purchased margarine spread. DO NOT USE REAL BUTTER ALONE IN THIS RECIPE. You can substitute Butter-flavoured shortening if you like.

2. The baking time is really 10-14 minutes depending on your oven.

3. These will disappear fast, so it's good to have some dough on hand. Add nuts to the recipe if you like.

rating: one bazillion stars. Loved by everyone who tries them.

Calcutta Curry

When I was homeschooling everyone back in the mid-90's, we were part of a coop. We'd meet once a week and learn, chat, etc. One week there was a missionary coming to speak from India. So we were supposed to bring Indian food -- and I found out the night before! Fortunately I had this sitting in my freezer; when I made it I was totally unaware I was making "Indian" food -- but everyone loved it!

CALCUTTA CURRY

vegetable oil

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 medium red pepper, cut into strips (about 1 cup)

1 1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger, or use fresh grated ginger if you like

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 can Campbell's Cream of Asparagus soup

2/3 cup milk

2 Tbsps. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

hot cooked rice

1/4 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews

Over medium-high heat, stir-fry the chicken in the vegetable oil until golden.

Reduce heat to medium and remove the chicken from the skillet or wok. In the remaining oil, stir-fry the red bell pepper, curry powder, ginger, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder until the bell pepper is tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the soup, milk, and 1 Tbsp. cilantro (or parsley). Heat to boiling. Return chicken to the mixture, and reduce heat to low. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice, and sprinkle with coconut and nuts.

Jen's Notes:

1. I always use more than 1 lb. of chicken, and the sauce is still enough.

2. You can substitute green pepper for the red and it still works.

3. You can also substitute fresh garlic and dried parsley, or just omit the cilantro/parsley all together. That will work fine too.

4. I always use cashews because I always have them on hand. But any nut you really like will work.

rating: 3 stars. Everyone likes it a lot.

Greek Salad

My favourite restaurant in Indianapolis, IN is Bravo. I always get the same thing, everytime I go: Penne Med with a chopped Mediterranean salad.

This is a variation on the salad -- not freezable, but definitely a great accompaniment to any Italian or Mediterranean meal --

GREEK SALAD

1-2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped with a knife (it's faster)

cherry or grape tomatoes, halved if you like

a can or two of sliced black olives

one cucumber, diced -- your choice to leave the skin on or off

Feta cheese

pine nuts

1 bottle of Italian Salad dressing, your favourite, or one cruet of Good Seasons dressing you made up yourself, Zesty Italian flavor.

Put all this into a bowl in the order listed. Then pour the dressing over the top. Take your salad grabbers and lift around the bowl so the dressing can drip down, and serve.

Gets better the day after.

rating: five stars. JB's favourite.

Cranberry Chicken

There are many variations of this dish -- but this is my favourite:

CRANBERRY CHICKEN

1 chicken, cut up, or chicken breasts, or whatever chicken pieces you like that will fit in a 9x13

pan

1 package onion soup mix

1 small bottle Kraft Catalina salad dressing

1 can whole berry or jellied cranberry sauce

Place the chicken in the bottom of a 9x13" pan.

Mix the sauce ingredients together, and pour over the chicken.

Bake for at least 1 hour 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Serve with hot, cooked rice.

Jen's Notes:

1. If you're in a hurry, you can nuke the chicken first before baking. But it's necessary to bake this slowly at a lower temperature, because there's so much sugar in the sauce and it will burn quickly if you try to bake it faster at a higher temperature.

2. This freezes well whether you bake it first or not. But when you thaw it, keep it at the 325 degree temp to bake -- again, so it won't burn. Or you can bake it first before freezing, then nuke it to thaw.

3. You can use a generic Catalina or Russian dressing, but the Kraft works the best.

rating: 4 stars. A sweet favourite.

Beef Burgundy

BEEF BURGUNDY

2-4 lbs. beef cubes, commonly called "stew beef"
3 cans Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup
1 package onion soup mix
1 1/4 cup burgundy wine
2 cans of mushrooms, drained

Mix it all together and bake in a cassarole dish 4 hours at 325 degrees.

Serve over hot noodles or rice.

Jen's notes:

1. You can use regular mushroom soup with this but you might want to add a little worcestershire sauce to it.
2. You can also use fresh mushrooms if you like.
3. I always serve this over hot noodles. The rice just doesn't quite give it the umph it needs.
4. This also freezes very well. You can just mix it up and throw it in the freezer, and then take it out when you need it and bake it all day.
5. Also works in the crock pot.

rating: four stars. Loved by most everyone.

Chicken Enchiladas

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1 can condensed Cream of Chicken or Cream of Celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsps. butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion, or equivalent of minced dried onion
1 tsp. chili powder
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced into small pieces
1-4 oz. can chopped or diced green chilis or jalapenos
8 flour tortillas
1 cup cheese, cheddar or monterey jack or combination

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray a 9x13" pan with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the soup and sour cream until smooth. Set aside.

Make your filling:
In a large saucepan or medium skillet over medium heat, melt the margarine or butter. Add in the onion and chili powder and cook until onion is tender, stirring often. Add in the chilis and combine. Add in the chicken, and stir to season. Add in 2 tablespoons (or two good dollops) of the soup and sour cream mixture to make a pasty, gooey filling. Remove from heat.

Take a 1/4 cup measure and fill each tortilla in the center. Roll up and place in 9x13 pan. Be more generous with your filling if necessary to use each tortilla.

When the 9x13" pan is full of stuffed tortillas, spread the remaining soup and sour cream mixture over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the cheese over the soup mixture. Cover with foil, and bake about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese melts and everything is heated through

Serves about 4 with leftovers.

Jen's notes:

1. I always use more tortillas than just 8. Usually I have at least 12 in a pan. This is one of those recipes you can do by just using what you have, rather than paying a lot of attention to the amounts of the ingredients.
2. You can save some calories by just sprinkling less cheese over the top and using fat-free sour cream.
3. This works great with whatever chicken you might have leftover from another dish.

rating: 5 STARS! A FAV!