Amazing Cranberry, Orange, White Chocolate, Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, those are a lot of flavors packed into one small cookie.  But, oh are they worth it!  These cookies are simple to make and just as easy to eat!  I'm not a huge cookie fanatic, nor do I care for oatmeal cookies especially.  But these little gems are different.  They pack a serious punch of ooey-gooey goodness.

Recipe:
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (more if you like the stronger orange flavor)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup Craisins
1 cup white chocolate chips


Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Optional:  Drizzle cookies with white chocolate flavored with orange.  Yummo!

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time Time: 10-12 min




.

Strawberry Cake

Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 small box strawberry gelatin
1 1/2 cups mashed fresh strawberries with juice
1 C oil
1/2 C fat free half and half
4 eggs or 6 egg whites
1/2 cup pecans
Makes 3 - 8 inch cakes

Place oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees
Grease and flour cake pans

Icing/filling:
8 oz softened cream cheese
8 T softened butter
6 C sifted powdered sugar (depending on the weather, you may need extra to thicken the icing)
1/2 C mashed (not pureed) strawberries
1/2 C pecans
1/2 tsp butter extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract

Mix all cake ingredients for 1 minue on medium speed. Next, equally seperate the cake batter into three 8 in cake pans. Bake for 30 - 35 mnutes then completely cool before icing.

Icing/filling:
Combine cream cheese, butter, and strawberries on low until well mixed. Next, add nuts followed by powdered sugar one cup at a time on low to medium speed. Cake must be refrigerated.

Broccoli Salad

Salad:
1 bunch fresh broccoli, chopped
1 medium purple onion, chopped
1/3 C bacon bits
1 C pecans or nut of choice
raisins or cranraisins to taste

Dressing:
1/2 C reduced fat mayo
1/2 C reduced fat sour cream
2 T granulated sugar
2 T cider vinegar

Combine all salad ingredients and put aside.
Combine dressing ingredients, pour over salad and toss.

Gooey Pumpkin Cake

Cake:
1 box butter yellow cake mix
1 large egg
8 T melted salted butter

Topping:
8 oz cream cheese softned
15 oz canned or fresh pumpkin
3 large eggs
8 T unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp butter extract
1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cake:
Combine cake mix, 1 egg, and 8 T butter and mix on medium speed. Press the mixture into a greased 13 x 9 baking pan.

Toppinging:
On medium speed, beat cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla and butter extracts to pumpkn mixture. Next, add sifted powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg mixing well.

Spread topping over cake batter and bake for 40 - 45 minutes. The center f the cake will be gooey not dry if a toothpick is inserted. DO NOT OVER BAKE!

Chicken Piccata

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

2 - 3 chicken breasts pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 cup flour seasoned as desired
2 T fresh lemon juice, about one large lemon
1/2 C low sodium chicken stock or white wine
1/4 C capers
1/4 fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly dry coat chicken with seasoned flour. Pan-fry chicken until golden brown on both sides. Deglaze pan with chicken stock and lemon juice while scraping bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add capers and simmer for 2 minutes. Plate and garnish with parsley.

Serves 4

A Day of Cooking....Pots and Pans Therapy

I have had little to no time to do one of the things that I love since my son was born...cooking.  Today, I decided that I needed some good ol' fashioned culinary therapy.  I hopped on the Internet and began searching recipes to make a different kind of dinner. 

I've never been one to enjoy breakfast foods, least of all at breakfast.  But I figured I should give it a try once more, and have breakfast for dinner.  My searches yielded very different results.  Some were simple, others required three-year training from the Culinary Institute.  Nevertheless, I found some recipes that somewhat appealed to me.

My husband LOVES pancakes.  Not just any pancake, IHOP pancakes.  I really don't relish the idea of visiting the restaurant, since I'm not keen on the breakfast varietals served there.  I did some Googleing and found a copycat recipe for them.  I then had an idea that I'd like to prepare a hashbrown casserole.  Again, a few minutes of digging, and voila! 

The site that I gathered these recipes from is Food.com.  It's amazing how many recipes are located here.  Even better, there is section that allows you to search for a menu based on a theme, or mood!  Each recipe also boasts it's nutritional value run-down.  Below are the recipes that I prepared tonight...

Cracker Barrel Hash Browns Casserole (Copycat)

Ingredients

26 -30 ounces of shredded hash browns
2 cups of shredded cheese ( colby to sharp)
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup of minced onions or 1/4 cup finely diced onions
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
1 teaspoon garlic salt or 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup real bacon bits

Directions

Melt butter or margarine and mix in milk, broth, soup, bacon bits, pepper, and onion in large measuring cup or bowl.

In large skillet heat hash browns and fold in shredded cheese until melted.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Prepare 9x13 baking dish or pan.

Put hash brown cheese mixture into prepared pan and pour other ingredients in and fold until hash browns swell in most of the liquid. Spoon the hash browns flat and place in oven to bake for 45 minutes.

IHOP Pancakes (Copycat)
Nonstick Spray


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cooking oil
pinch of salt

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Use a pan with a nonstick surface or apply a little nonstick spray.

2. In a blender or with a mixer, combine all of the remaining ingredients until smooth.

3. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles.

4. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes. They should be golden brown.

5. Cook pancakes on the other side for same amount of time, until golden brown.

Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.

*Do not overbeat.

After making breakfast for dinner, I also decided to try an artichoke and spinach dip recipe.  I've been looking for one to make for a bachelor party we're giving one of my cohorts.

Ingredients


2 (10 ounce) packages frozen spinach ( thawed and drained)
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts
4 Tbsp. alfredo sauce (Newman's Own jarred sauce is pretty good.  Homemade is much better.)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic
6 shakes of worceteshire sauce
3 shakes of Tobasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
tortilla chips, for scooping OR grilled baguette crudite

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients (withholding about 1/3 cup parmesean) using pulse option of food processor. Add to baking dish that has been sprayed with non stick spray, cover with remaining parmesean. Cover with foil. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.

*Serving this dip with grilled baguette crudite rubbed with a garlic clove hot off the pit is an awesome alternative to tortilla chips.