The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Ingredients

1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 oz.) chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and both types of sugar using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer if you have one. Cream but do not beat until fluffy, we don’t want to beat in air. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add it to the butter-sugar mixture and beat on low speed until flour is incorporated. Scrape mixing bowl to ensure flour is evenly distributed in the dough. Stir in chocolate and, if using, nuts. You may need to do this with a wooden spoon.

2. Tightly cover the bowl and chill dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.* Before baking, allow dough to stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes until it is soft enough to shape into balls.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking tray with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls of about 1 ¼ inches (3 cm) in diameter (slightly smaller than golf balls). Place dough balls on baking tray, leaving plenty of room for the cookies to spread.

4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. They should be golden brown and crispy on the edges, no longer shiny but still quite soft in the middles. Do not overbake! Take cookies out of the oven and allow them to cool on the baking tray for 2 minutes before transferring them with a spatula to cooling racks. The cookies firm and set as they cool.
5. Store cooled cookies tightly covered at room temperature for up to one week or for up to three months in the freezer.

Recipe Notes

*If you want to bake the cookies immediately, add an extra ¼ cup of flour, for a total of 2 ¾ cups of flour. OR freeze cookie dough balls for 20 minutes before baking.

Captain Rodney's Cheese Bake

 EVERYONE'S FAVORITE DIP!

Ingredients 

1/2 cup mayonnaise
8 ounces cream cheese
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup Captain Rodney's Sweet and Spicy Glaze
4 slices bacon (cooked, chopped)
2 green onions (more for garnish if desired)
Ritz Crackers

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise and cream cheese.
3. Add in the cheddar cheese. Mix to combine.
4. Add green onions, Mix to combine.
5. Spoon into a 9 inch pie plate or similar size baking dish.
6. Top with cracker crumbs.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until the dip is bubbly and the crackers are golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the 3/4 cup Captain Rodney's Pepper Glaze, and top with  bacon.
9. Add more sliced green onions for garnish if desired. Serve with Ritz crackers or vegetables. Enjoy! 

Boneless Chicken Wings

You may be wondering how to make boneless chicken wings. 

Boneless chicken wings are simply breaded pieces of chicken breast. They are far less messy and very easy to eat with a fork and you don’t have to worry about bones.

Let's make some crispy chicken bites and some delicious savory sauces.

The first thing you are going to want to do is bread the chicken pieces and fry them. This is a universal breading that will work perfectly for all of the sauces in this post. The sauces can be prepared in advance or while the chicken tenders are frying.

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)

Peanut Oil (for deep frying)

1 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder. In a small bowl whisk together egg and milk. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then roll in the flour mixture. Repeat so that each piece of chicken is double coated.

Step 2: Fry chicken in the hot oil in batches until the outside is nicely browned and the juices run clear (about 5 minutes per batch). Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all of the chicken is gone.
Step 3: Mix fried chicken bits with your favorite wing sauce.

Now, here are the sauces. The sauces can be prepared in advance or while the chicken bits are frying. I have recipes for 5 different types of delicious wing sauces. Most of these sauces will make a lot, so they will be able to cover large batches of boneless wings.

Buffalo Wing Sauce-

Ingredients:

¼ cup hot pepper sauce

1 tablespoon butter

Step 1: Combine hot sauce and butter in a small bowl. Microwave on high until the butter has melted (about 20 to 30 seconds). Mix well. This recipe can easily be double if you are making a large amount of wings.

Honey BBQ Wing Sauce-

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups ketchup

1/3 cup white vinegar

¼ cup molasses

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon chili powder

Step 1: In a small saucepan over medium heat combine all of the ingredients. Stir until well combined and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Parmesan Garlic Wing Sauce-

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves (peeled)

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

5 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss garlic cloves with olive oil in a small oven safe dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the garlic cloves began to turn light brown. Remove from the oven, cool garlic, and finely mince with a sharp knife.

Step 2: Combine garlic and the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well, cover and chill for several hours before using.

Asian Wing Sauce-

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

½ cup corn syrup

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup chili-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon garlic (minced)

Step 1: In a small bowl mix cornstarch with rice vinegar. Set aside. In a small sauce pan combine remaining ingredients. Add the cornstarch and rice vinegar mixture and mix well.

Step 2: Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat the simmer until it becomes thick. Remove from heat, allow it to cool then cover and chill it until ready to use (you can also use it right away if the chicken is ready).

Caribbean Jerk Wing Sauce-

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons green onion (minced)

1 cup water

¾ cup ketchup

½ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons hot sauce

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoons nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon sage

1/8 teaspoon thyme

Step 1: In a small saucepan sauté onion in butter over medium heat. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these sauces!

~Shelly

Meatballs and Gravy

This recipe is tried and true!

I’m not going to pretend that I am Italian, because of every nationality that is mixed through my veins – Italian is about the single one that I am not. However, I love Italian food & tend to make some pretty great meals when I cook Italian food. This is something I am confident I can make well…enter Meatballs and Gravy. Now, since I am not Italian by birth (only by choice) I would not have known that the sauce is actually called gravy, when you put it on meatballs. Also, I found everything I need to make this wonderful recipe at Harter House and Harter House World Flavors.

Meatballs and Gravy

Ingredients:
For Meatballs:

1.5 lb. of mild Italian sausage

1.5 lb. lean ground beef

2 eggs

2 tsp Dried Italian Seasoning

3/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (reduced fat)

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

pinch brown sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

For “Gravy”

2 large cans Cento crushed tomatoes

2 cloves fresh minced garlic

1 small yellow or white onion

olive oil

1/2 diced roasted Italian red pepper

fresh basil – minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

pinch sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

couple dashes hot sauce

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp of lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Open a bottle of your favorite wine and consume while cooking.

3. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs into a bowl. Once all the ingredients are blended together, you are going to form your balls. These are meant to be bigger than the kind you find in your spaghetti – since they are the main course. So you want them to fill up a good handful (why is this starting to sound dirty)…

Once you have all your meatballs formed, line them up on a cookie tray. Its really important not to crowd the tray so the meat cooks evenly. Once you have this step completed, put your meatballs in the oven – reduce the heat to 375 and cook for exactly 45 minutes. Reducing the heat allows for the outside to form a slight crunch, while the inside cooks perfectly.

4. Now we start on the sauce! Slice the onions & chop garlic & add to saucepan over medium heat with about 2 swirls of olive oil in the pan.

Once the onions have cooked and are translucent, add in the remaining ingredients for the sauce, starting with the crushed tomatos. After you have all the ingredients added & well incorporated, turn the heat to low & cover. The flavors will all blend together on a low simmer while the meatballs finish cooking.

5. When the meatballs are done you are going to take each one and add to your sauce, excuse me, gravy…. and roll around to make sure they are completely covered. Optional step is to place a slice of mozerella on each meatball (after its been rolled in the gravy) and cover again for just a minute to melt the cheese.

6. For the salad, I cheated and bought a bag of Ultimate Caesar Salad mix, but I am not kidding when I say, it was the BEST bag of salad I have ever bought. BECAUSE it has the shaved Parmesan cheese, the creamy dressing & this little spice mix to sprinkle on top that I had never seen before….

(PS, I always cut out the lettuce "ribs")

I topped my meatballs with some grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.