My Favorite Cookies

Its that time of year where everything is pumpkin and Brenda makes a cookie that is no exception. Soft with a cake-like texture loaded with chips and nuts, Ben gets these made for him every year. I force the nut thing as I love them in everything but especially, cookies!

My personal favorite is Chicago Crunch from an old friend of ours. These special chocolate chip cookies have oats and cornflakes that give them their special texture and crunch. I of  course insist on a handfull of walnuts to round out their superior milk dipping

Pumpkin Cookies

 

 

 

3 sticks of margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 can pumpkin puree 15 oz
1 pkg chocolate chips
Optional a handfull of walnuts

Cream margarine and sugar, add eggs, vanilla and pumpkin puree. Mix dry ingredients then add to wet. Add chips and nuts. Stir then drop by 1 ounce scoop.
Bake 350 for 12-14 minutesor until lightly browned.

Chicago Crunch

1/2 cup butter and margarine
1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 T milk
2 t vanilla
3 t baking soda
1t salt
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 c veg oil
1 c corn flakes
1 c quick oats
1 pkg chocolate chips
Handful walnuts

Cream sugars and butter and margarine. Add egg, milk, vanilla. Combine flour and soda and salt. add to creamed mixture alternating with oil. add corn flakes, oats, chips and nuts. stir to combine. Drop by 1 ounce scoop on greased cookie sheet. Bake 350 for 8-12 minutes  depending on how brown you like them. i like them a bit darker. 

Chicken Dinners

This week, a cold snap hit the Midlands and we were ready to hunker down. After work on Wednesday, I stopped for provisions and picked a up a pack of boneless, skinless chicken breast. About 7 in all.
I had researched a few recipes during the day and asked Brenda if Tiki Masala was good for her after her late shift. I purchased accordingly but I had also found a Tuscan Chicken recipe I could not let pass. My indecision forced me to pick up groceries for both recipes.
Once home, I prepped the small pack of wings I purchased and put them in the toaster over then set out to make Tuscan chicken.

 

I, of course, got out the Instant Pot since I am still fascinated with its use and adapting regular recipes to its use. The recipe I found was for a skillet version and while the Pot made this quickly without a lot of baby sitting, the time spent was about the same. The chicken however was much more tender from the Pot. 

One of the caveats was no pasta or rice. I found the great recipe that used cannellini beans instead. Perfect!

Tuscan Chicken and Mushrooms (adapted to Instant Pot)

 2 tbls olive oil

3 chicken breasts, pounded flat with an iron skillet

1 tbls flour, salt and pepper to sprinkle.

8 ounce cremini mushrooms sliced thick

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced in strips

1 tbls Italian seasoning mix

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 c cream

Shaved Romano cheese

Set the pot to saute on high and dredge the chicken breasts in flour, salt and pepper then brown in olive oil till golden, remove and set aside.

In the Pot still on saute, add the mushrooms and garlic for just a few minutes and scrape the fond from the Pot. Add the broth, tomatoes, seasoning. Place the trivet in the Pot and put the reserved chicken on top. 

Cover the Pot for pressure cooking and set to the Meat setting for only 5 minutes. Let it finish and then release the pressure naturally.

Open the pot once pressure has subsided remove the chicken to serving platter and remove the trivet.  Add the beans and cream, heat in the saute mode till bubbly.  Pour over the plated chicken. Top with shaved Romano. 

After all this excitement and the little time it took, I also prepped the rest of the chicken for Tiki Masala which we ate Saturday night. Not going to lie, it was nice to have a second meal cooked and ready for dinner.  I used the Pot again and my usual Masala recipe elsewhere on the blog here. Just saute the spices in the Pot, add the tomatoes and marinated chicken. This time I set the Pot to 10 minutes high pressure with a quick release. Same great tender chicken.

I used this recipe with  modifications:



 Instant Pot Chicken Tiki Masala

The only thing I would change was to cook those spices in oil before assembling the rest of the ingredients. 

Cooking Under Pressure

I succumbed to the new trend and picked up a Instant Pot pressure cooker at Walmart after doing a fair amount of research.

This all started a few weeks ago during a cold snap and Baker's grocery had some nice looking arm roasts at the meat counter and Brenda, who hardly ever asks for anything for dinner, wanted a pot roast.

Now 2 o'clock in the afternoon is hardly the time to start thinking pot roast in a slow cooker but we picked up a roast and set a path for home. It took hours, and then more hours. I believe we ate that night around 730-8 o'clock.  I was lamenting the fact that if these darn pressure cookers actually  work the way they are promoted, this would not have been an issue. Turns out they do work this way and I prepared a roast this past Sunday in 1 hour ( 2 hours to complete the meal) that was better than the slow cooked one by far.

Since I am new to the Instant Pot game, I have a lot to learn but the roast came together relatively quickly and my skepticism aside, came out fantastic.

 

 

Super tender and very flavorful, that being to the recipe I used which include a umami palate of ingredients that normally don't add to my roast. I will now of course.

 

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/pressure-cooker-pot-roast/

 

 

Here is the link to the recipe I used. Notice this recipe has fish sauce and soy sauce in it. These are essential umami ingredients that add that flavor in the background. Follow these instructions and you will hit pot roast nirvana. 

Eaing Omaha....1000 degrees and Spin Pizza

Brenda and I are reminiscing about our trip to Vegas a year or so ago when we ate at a pizza place called 800 degrees. This place was a cafeteria style ordering and choosing pizza toppings and by the time you went to pay, the pizza was ready. It took about 1 minute or less to cook.

I believe this 1000 degree chain is of the same type as 800 degrees except it took a little longer and was a little bit disorganized. Considering the average age behind the counter, that's not surprising. What was surprising was how good the end product was. A delicious chewy crust with those charred leopard spots and the toppings were great. The place was pretty busy the Friday night we visited and there were few places to sit. Not a huge dining room.

In addition to pizza they also serve wings which we did not try (but want to). I know we bought 2 pieces of pie home and I had some the next day which was not nearly as good as when fresh but tasty none the less. Average prices for a 17 inch pie, we tried the 'Meatza" which had several cuts of meat and sausage. We would go there again I believe for a quick, no nonsense experience. A far cry though from Spin Pizza which we also hit a few weeks ago but they had some brief table service as well as a pretty formal dining room and spirits.  Same type of pizza, same type of quality but the ambiance was much nicer.