Ginger's Chocolate Chunkers

 Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (used Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark Chocolate Bar)

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

6 ounces premium-quality milk or white chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips (Used Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Pound Plus Bar)

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts, preferably salted peanuts or toasted pecans

1 cup moist, plump raisins or finely chopped moist, plump dried apricots (Used dried cherries - optional)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the butter, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally, just until melted — the chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny but not so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it on the counter to cool.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until they are pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then scrape down the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the melted butter and chocolate, mixing only until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl, then, on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny. Scrape down the bowl and, using the rubber spatula, mix in the semisweet and milk (or white) chocolate chunks, nuts and raisins — you’ll have more crunchies than dough at this point.

Drop the dough by generously heaping tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space between the mounds of dough.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. (I did it 11 minutes) The tops of the cookies will look a little dry but the interiors should still be soft. Remove the baking sheet and carefully, using a broad metal spatula, lift the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining dough, baking only one sheet of cookies at a time and making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

If, when the cookies are cooled, the chocolate is still gooey and you’d like it to be a bit firmer, just pop the cookies into the fridge for about 10 minutes.

PS. The cookies in the picture were made by scooping out about 2 tablespoonfuls of the dough and flattening the mounds of dough slightly.

White Chocolate Madacamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on cookies

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. This will take 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
• With the mixer off, add all of the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix. Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
• Form the cookie dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies for 8 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Check early to make sure you don’t over bake, every oven is different. Remove from oven and sprinkle the cookies with flaky sea salt. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Million Dollar Spaghetti

 Ingredients:

• 1 lb spaghetti

• ½ tbsp oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 28 oz jar marinara sauce (plus 1 cup water)
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Alfredo Sauce:
• 1 stick butter
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp dried parsley

Topping:
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• Fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a pan and sauté onion, bell pepper, and garlic for 5 minutes. Add ground beef and sausage, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned. Stir in marinara, water, and seasonings. Let it simmer with the lid slightly open, stirring occasionally.
2. While the sauce simmers, cook spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. In another pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in heavy cream, stirring constantly, and bring to a gentle simmer. Let it thicken slightly, then stir in Parmesan, garlic salt, and parsley until smooth.
4. In a deep baking dish, toss spaghetti with Alfredo sauce and spread evenly. Top with meat sauce, then sprinkle mozzarella.
5. Bake at 350°F for 25 min, then broil for 3-4 min. Garnish with parsley & enjoy!

Sweet Spicey Sticky Chicken

 Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces 
  
  
   
• 1 ½ pounds chicken tenders
• Salt and pepper
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup white or apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• Hot, cooked rice, for serving

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place butter in glass 9X13-pan. Place in oven so the butter can melt. (Don't let it burn!) Remove from the oven when butter is melted. Alternately, you can melt the butter and spread in the pan (but where's the fun in that?).
• Pat the chicken tenders dry with paper towels. Season lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Place the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken tenders in flour to coat. Shake off excess. Place the chicken in a single layer in the buttered pan.
• Bake for 10 minutes. It will bake longer in a following step. While the chicken bakes, make the sauce.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the broth, vinegar, ketchup, granulated sugar, brown sugar, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour the sauce over the chicken and return to the oven to bake for 15 minutes until chicken is baked through and the sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened. The sauce will continue to thicken out of the oven as it cools.
• Serve the chicken and sauce over hot, cooked rice.

Raspberry Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients: 

8 ounces of cream cheese

1 Cup powdered sugar

1/2 Pint whip cream

Cream cream cheese and powdered sugar together.  Set aside.  Whip the whipping cream until it peaks.  Fold in the cream cheese mixture with the whipping cream.  Pour into cooled baked pie crust (fun no-roll-out pie crust below).  Can be used with a regular crust or graham cracker crust.

Topping:

1 bag of frozen raspberries  Defrost the berries, drain out the juice and save.  Place juice in a sauce pan with 1 TBS of cornstarch.  Stir constantly over medium heat until thickened (boiling)   Add the berries and let cool.  Top cream cheese filling with topping.

 Piecrust:

1 1/2 Cups flour

1 TBS sugar

1/2 tsp salt

place in a pie plate and mix with a fork.

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

2 TBS milk

Mix the oil and milk until they are creamy.  Then pour over the flour mixture.  Mix well until moist.  Take fingers and press dough on sides and bottom of pan.  Make sure that it is fairly thin.  Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until slightly brown.  

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

 

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Grated peel of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups Bisquick 
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese

Instructions

• 1 In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites until they start to bubble. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the sugar; continue beating until soft peaks form. Set aside.
  
• 2 In large bowl, beat egg yolks, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, the lemon peel and vanilla with whisk. Beat in melted butter and milk until smooth. Add Bisquick mix, and stir with rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix). Fold whipped egg whites into batter until just combined. Gently fold ricotta cheese into batter. Batter will be lumpy.
  
• 3 Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons batter in skillet. Once little bubbles form, turn and continue to cook until pancake is evenly browned on each side. Repeat with remaining batter.
  
• 4 Serve pancakes with your choice of fruit, powdered sugar and/or maple syrup.
  

Marry Me Chicken Meatballs with Risoni (Orozo

Ingredients

CHICKEN MEATBALLS

• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) minced (ground) chicken
• 1½ cups (90 g) panko breadcrumbs
• 1 small brown onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp freshly minced garlic
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (50 g) freshly grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• Olive oil spray or 1 tbsp olive oil

RISONI

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 1 tbsp freshly minced garlic
• 135 g (5 oz) semi-dried (sun-blushed) tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated puree)
• 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
• 1 cup (200 g) risoni (orzo)
• ½ cup (125 ml) thickened (heavy) cream
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp chilli (red pepper) flakes, plus extra to serve (optional)
• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• ½ cup (125 ml) water
• 2 cups (100 g) fresh baby spinach
• ½ cup (50 g) freshly grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

Instructions

1. Make the meatballs – Combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, egg, parmesan, milk, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until just combined.
2. Take 1 heaped tablespoon of the mixture at a time, and roll it into balls just a little smaller than a golfball. Wet your hands with tap water if the mixture feels too sticky. You should make roughly 12 meatballs.
3. To oven bake – Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) (200°C/400°F fan-forced) and line a baking tray with baking (parchment) paper. Place the meatballs on the baking tray ensuring they are not touching. Spray generously with olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes. Turn the oven grill (broiler) to high and grill (broil) the meatballs for a further 3–4 minutes until slightly browned on the edges.
4. To pan-fry – Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large, deep, non-stick frying pan. Cook the meatballs for 8–10 minutes until browned and cooked through. Set aside.
5. To air fry – Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Spray the basket generously with olive oil. Place the meatballs into the basket so they are not touching. (Cook in batches if needed.) Spray the meatballs with the olive oil spray and cook for 6–8 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
6. Make the risoni and sauce – Heat the olive oil in a large, deep heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or until softened.
7. Add the semi-dried tomatoes, followed by the red wine vinegar. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds until most of the liquid has evaporated.
8. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes.
9. Add the chicken stock, risoni, cream, oregano, chilli flakes (if using) and black pepper. Cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.
10. Add the water and cook, stirring regularly, for an additional 5 minutes, or until the risoni is tender. (See note 1 for troubleshooting.)
11. Turn the heat off, add the baby spinach and parmesan and stir until the spinach has just wilted.
12. Combine the meatballs and sauce – Add the baked meatballs to the pan and stir to coat them in the sauce.
13. Serve – Serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of chilli flakes (if using) and parmesan.  Recipe and image from Simple Home Edit - she's amazing!!!