52 Weeks of Cooking-Week Four

I'm really nervous about this recipe. I've never made it before (obviously), I've never had it before, and when I was talking about it (to my co-workers), they say they've never had it before.

But I got it from my favorite mystery novel series (the Hannah Swenson novels, by Joanne Fluke). And every recipe in those books are tested...

So...Mystery Cookies.

Ingredients

1/2 cup melted butter

3 and 1/2 cups white sugar

2 beaten eggs

1 can condensed tomato soup (yes..tomato soup...this is why I'm nervous)

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinncmon

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups raisins (I don't like raisins..so I used chocolate chips)

2 cups chopped walnuts (measure after chopping)

4 and 1/2 cups flour

Microwave butter in bowl to melt. Add sugar and let cool. Mix in eggs.

Add soup and mix. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add raisins and walnuts. Stir.

Measure flour and add in 1-cup increments, stirring in after each cup.

Let dough sit for 10 minutes.

Spray Pam on a cookie sheet.

Drop drough by teaspoons onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for 1-2 minutes on sheet and then move to wire rack.

52 Weeks of Cooking- Week Three

This week we have...Walnuttoes. Which are really just chocolate-walnut cookies.

Ingredients

2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups flour

2 cups finely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup white sugar, set aside

Directions

-Melt chocolate chips with butter. Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes, then stir til smooth.

-Mix in brown sugar and let cool.

-Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.

-Mix in vanilla, baking powder, and salt.

-Add flour and mix well, then add nuts and mix.

-Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

-After chilling preheating oven to 350 F.

-Roll walnut-sized dough balls. Drop into sugar and coat.

-Place on greased cookie sheet and smush down with greased spatula (or fork).

-Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 1 minute and remove to wire rack.

52 Weeks Of Cooking- Week Two

This week I was off Monday and today. After I finished what I made last week, which my co-workers loved, I was trying to decide what to make for this week and week three.

For week two, I was going back and forth between Spinach Quiche and what I ended up choosing.

So, today's recipe is... MUSHROOM SOUP!

I love mushrooms....mmm...

2 cups chicken broth

8 ounce package sliced mushrooms

1 can (10 and 3/4 ounce) condensed cream of chicken soup (undiluted)

1 can (10 and 3/4 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces shredded Gruyere (or Swiss or Montery Jack (which is what I used)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine chicken broth and mushrooms (besideds 12 slices for garnish) in a blender. Mix it up (Side note: I didn't set aside the 12 slices)

Add cream of chicken soup to blender. Mix it up.

Coat the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with Pam.

Add blender to pot.

Add cream of mushroom soup, cream, cheese and pepper. Stir.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Side note for this soup/my thoughts- I liked it, but it probably would have been better if it had actual mushrooms that I could "chew" up. Which is probably why it told you to hold off on some of the mushrooms lol.

Win some/lose some.

52 Weeks of Cooking- Week One

I've been missing from here lately and for that I am sorry.

But it's a new year and I'm back baby!

I really would like to get back into cooking again and I decided that I will start out slow.

Trying one new recipe a week shouldn't be too hard should it?

Just which ever day I happen to be off, I will cook 1 new thing.

And what a better day to start than the 1st!

So today, I present to you:

Chocolate Chip Crunchs

1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 beaten eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups crushed cornflakes (I discovered that 2 cups uncrushed cornflakes will give you 1 cup crushed cornflakes)

1 to 2 cups chocolate chips

-Melt butter. Add sugars and stir. Add soda, salt, vanilla and eggs. Mix. Add flour and stir. Add cornflakes and chocolate chips. Mix.

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Form walnut sized dough balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Press down with floured spatula.

-Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheet, for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

These cookies are different. The crunch that the cornflakes gives is nice. I will definitely keep this recipe for later!

EXCLUSIVE!

Ok...I know.





I haven't been doing any real cooking lately.





I *need* to get my recipe binder organized. And my 2 new recipe boxes!

Here is one.

So instead of actually cooking anything, I am going to write a review!

I'm not sure if this has been said on here or not, but I work for Arby's. As such, I know when we have new sandwiches coming out.

Next Monday, my area Arby's restaurants have 3 new sandwiches coming out. We had training on them yesterday and I tried 2 of them (more on the third later).

The first sandwich is our GYRO. Gyros are Greek and normally made with lamb. Our sandwich is made with beef obviously.

The base is a pita bread like normal. It gets heated up. Then we will put on a "gyro sauce" which I believe is cucumber in base.

Then it gets 3 onion rings (raw), 2 tomatoes, shredded lettuce, 2 and a half ounces of beef and gyro seasoning.

I tried this one and I really like it. We used to have a gyro but it was more spicy. It had pepper-jack cheese and a jalopeno sauce on it. I liked that one more, but this new gyro is also a winner and I think it will be popular.

Next we have 2 new sandwiches on sourdough.

This first one, called a Patty Melt, is made with beef. Both pieces of bread get toasted on both sides. It has 1000 Island dressing (like our Ruban sandwiches), 1 piece of Swiss (processed, not the kind with holes), a seasoning we normally put on our Roastburgers (Chargrill seasoning), 2 and a half ounces of beef and a garlic butter/diced onion mixture, plus more 1000 Island (some on each piece).

I did not try this. I don't like 1000 Island dressing. BUT! I did try a piece of toasted sourdough, plus the garlic butter/onion mixture. THAT is very good. Of course, you can't have that, but let me tell you, the garlic butter is good.

Next we have the Chicken Melt. It is also on sourdough (toasted on both sides again). This has a parmesan ranch sauce (on both sides), 3 (raw) onion rings, shredded lettuce and 2 and a half ounces of roast chicken.

I sorta tried this. I don't normally like our roast chicken. I did try this sandwich with beef instead. I liked it, it was alright. I don't normally like our sourdough, so I'm not in love with it.

The parmesan ranch is really good. I like parmesan and I like ranch, so I like them together!

So my thoughts? I love the Gyro and will probably eat it frequently (can't beat free food!). Then I will have the Patty Melt, but changing the 1000 island sauce to the Parmesan Ranch.

And if I don't want any of those I will just toast a piece of bread and put the garlic butter on it!

Ok, so be sure to be on the look out for these new sandwiches! Of course, you may not even get them! I know of some other Arby's in other locations that haven't gotten food or special drinks that we have.

But if you like in the southern Ohio/northern Kentucky region, you will probably have these 3 new sandwiches next Monday!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of these new sandwiches. And let me know if you try them when you get them!

Recipe Rewind- Blue Blueberry Muffins.

It's been a while since I posted something new. For that I am sorry.

I haven't been making anything. I wanted to have it be a goal to make something new at least once a week. But I have been sick as of late, so that's why I've been taking a kitchen break.

Can't have be making food while I'm all sick and germy!

So, in leui of anything new, I am posting these almost a year old pictures/recipe.

This is probably one of the best recipes I've made so far. The product and the pictures turned out great!

Ingredients

3/4 cup melted butter (1 and 1/2 sticks)

1 cup sugar

2 whipped eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup blueberry pie filling

2 cups plus 1 teaspoon flour

1/2 cup milk

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup softened butter

Directions

Grease bottoms of 12-cup muffin pan. I used muffin cups and made almost 24 muffins. Melt butter and mix in sugar. Add eggs and baking powder. Mix.

Put 1 tablespoon flour in plastic bag with blueberries. Shake to coat berries.

To your butter/eggs/sugar/baking powder mixture, add 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup milk. Mix. Add remaining flour and milk and mix again.

Add blueberry pie filling and mix. Fold in blueberries.

Fill muffins tins 3/4 full and set aside.

-For the crumb topping: Mix sugar and flour in a bowl. Add butter and cut in until it's crumbly.

-Sprinkle topping over muffins and bake 25-30 minutes.

-Set on wire rack for 30 minutes to cool.

*If you have extra pie filling, you can freeze it and then thaw it when you make muffins again.

Getting butter ready for melting.

Added in sugar.

Added in eggs and baking powder.

Blueberries coated in flour.

Half flour and half milk

Blueberries

After the pie filling...

I ended up with 21 muffins.

Oops! I forgot to take pictures of me making the crumb topping! But there it is on the muffins.

This is after 25 minutes cooking time.

This is after 30 total minutes cooking time.

And 30 minutes of rest!

Inside of the muffin.

My favorite picture from the bunch.

Chocolate Turnovers-From Hershey's

Ok, I made this recipe last week for my manager's birthday.

See, I work at Arby's (I know...someone has to do it right?). And we have 2 desserts. Cherry turnovers and apple turnovers.

We used to have a chocolate kind, but they were only for a limited time only.

And my manager loved those things! She would eat at least one (maybe 2) a day.

Recently, she's been talking about them. And I mean constently. Saying how she wishes we had them again.

So I did some googling and found this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 package (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry, thawed (2 sheets)
1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons water
1-1/2 teaspoons shortening(do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Combine 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and cinnamon in small bowl; set aside.

2. Unfold one pastry sheet; roll on lightly floured surface to form 12-inch square. Cut into nine 4-inch squares. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chip mixture onto center of each square.

3. Lightly brush egg mixture onto edges of each square. Fold diagonally in half; seal edges. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining puff pastry sheet and remaining chip mixture. Lightly brush tops of turnovers with egg mixture.

4. Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to wire rack.

5. Place remaining 1/2 cup chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Drizzle melted chocolate over each turnover.

18 servings.

Guys, these are so good! And they are super easy to make! Took no time at all!

Before Cooking

After cooking

After Drizzling the chocolate on top...

MMMM!