Jolly Good Chocolate Chip Cookies

From the Aunt Bees Mayberry Cookbook: Good little cookie. Small recipe. Easy to make.

1/2 cup butter
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Half a beaten egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Rolled or jumbo oats

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, egg, and a few drops of vanilla. Beat well. Add the chocolate chips. Shape by hand into little balls, and roll in the oats. Place them on the prepared cookie sheet and press them down slightly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from teh tray while still hot and place on a wire rack to cool. [Makes up to 40 cookies, depending on how small you make the cookies]

Harvey's Little Big Orange Cookies

Another fun little recipe from Aunt Bees Mayberry Cookbook. I love orange flavored cookies, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, scones etc... I admittedly ate more than my share; the boys were not as enthralled as I was. ;)

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and the remaining ingredients. Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. [Makes 2 dozen.]

Thai Chicken Curry

Last week, the two of us managed to catch a cold from somewhere, so I wanted a chicken soup that would  warm the belly and the soul. For some it's chicken noodle soup, but for me it's Thai Chicken curry with chicken thighs. I loosely used the following recipe, but mainly used chicken broth, coconut milk, yellow curry powder, fish sauce, yellow onion, cilantro, carrots, orange bell pepper, potatoes and rice. The hubby bought me a KitchenAid mixer and one of the attachments was a spiralizer. I used it for the carrots and was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it was; I saved a lot of time that I would have spent chopping. I know this recipe was instrumental in our recovery. :)

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/sites/default/files/styles/recipe/public/recipe_images/recipe-image-legacy-id--1035606_11.jpg?itok=3ny7oaux

Pizza with Swiss Chard and Bacon

So the hubby bought me a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer for Valentines Day and I immediately bought "The Mixer Bible". It's been my goal since we moved here to Colorado to conquer Bread and dough recipes that require yeast. A separate blog will be posted about the pizza dough, but for this piece I want to focus on the toppings. After the hubby's trip to the grocery store, I find that we have a refrigerator full of various greens, including chards. Usually I cook them up with lemon juice, onions and mushrooms, but today we asked the question--"Can you put Chards on pizza?" So I looked to google and found out that chards and bacon make great toppings together on pizza. Earlier today we had also purchased pepper bacon at the deli. In addition, I had some hamburger meat, and added yellow onions and cremini mushrooms as well as a red pepper alfredo sauce I already had on hand. I made a 16" pizza and sprinkled mozzarella on top. It turned out more like a pie or a hand-tossed crust because the recipe was actually for (2) 12" pizzas. We usually prefer thin crust, but the hubby said it was the "best pizza toppings and crust" he had ever had. Success!!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pizza-with-swiss-chard-and-bacon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0778804666/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bullet Brownies

Finally carved out time to get caught up on blogging some awesome recipes that I've tried in the past couple of weeks. First up is desserts-I've been doing a lot of baking from "Aunt Bees Mayberry Cookbook". There are some really fun recipes that use both old fashioned methods and combine interesting ingredients. 

These are probably the best brownies I've ever made. They are very dense (almost fudge-like) and possibly due to the altitude I had to bake them 35-40 minutes. Wish I would have had some of my homemade ice cream on hand.

1 cup margarine
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Grease a 9 inch square pan and dust with cocoa. In a saucepan, melt the margarine. Add the sugar and cocoa, and blend well. Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. [These freeze well.] They're very rich so may server more than 9. 

Goober Says Haystacks (No Bake)

Finally carved out time to get caught up on blogging some awesome recipes that I've tried in the past couple of weeks. First up is desserts-I've been doing a lot of baking from "Aunt Bees Mayberry Cookbook". There are some really fun recipes that use both old fashioned methods and combine interesting ingredients. Take this one for example...only 3 ingredients and no bake. Super easy and delicious. :)

1 12oz package buttersotch chips 

1 12oz package semisweet chocolate chips

1 12oz package Chinese chow mein noodles

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butterscotch and chocolate chips. Add the chow mein noodles, coating well. Spoon onto waxed paper and chill until firm.

Makes 3-4 dozen

Chocolate Nutella Poke Cake

Whenever I feel a need for fresh ideas, I go to Pinterest. I have an entire board dedicated to Poke Cake and tonight I was so glad that I do. This recipe was SUPER easy and SUPER delicious! The hubby thought it was a special occasion he liked it so much, haha. I used a Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix and chocolate fudge pudding. And.....come on! It's Nutella! You can't go wrong. Also, you can choose to use Cool Whip or not. I think it was just as good without it, but then again, it helps to have some homemade ice cream on hand :)

http://www.adashofsanity.com/2014/07/chocolate-nutella-poke-cake-moist-chocolate-hazelnut-cake/