Gooey Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I was inspired by a recipe on Paula Deen's website when I was searching for something gooey, and brownie-like, and came up with this! It's a little different than her's (which uses a cake mix and cream cheese- try it!), but these are from scratch, and amazingly delicious! I added some mint chocolate chips or broken Andes mints for an extra decadent treat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine:
2 C. sugar
½ C. oil
4 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla (or peppermint extract)
1 C. baking cocoa

add:
2 C. flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt
(optional: ½ c. crushed candy canes, 1 C. mint chips, or 1 C. broken Andes mints)

roll into balls, and into:
½ C. powdered sugar

place on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until puffy in the center. Remove from oven while still puffy in center and let flatten and cool on counter for a few minutes. Hurry and eat them all before your husband gets to them!!!

Super Easy Black Bean Chili

                                               
by Erin Taylor

This chili is super fast, super easy, and super good! Make some on a cold night and serve with your favorite cornbread and honeybutter! (I use Marie Callendar's brand!)
Easy Mexican Salad recipe follows using same chili! It's delicious!!!


1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (red beans would work, too, but black has more flavor!)
2 C. water
2 tsp. chopped garlic (or garlic powder)
1 Tbsp. ground Cumin
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
Salt and pepper

Brown the meat in a pot. (making this all in one pot saves dishes!)Drain any excess fat. Add contents of cans, garic, and seasonings. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese.

*hint- this chili is PERFECT as an Easy Mexican Salad! Crumble corn tortilla chips onto a plate. Top with shredded lettuce. Pour chili over the top. Add shredded cheese, sour cream,sliced olives, and salsa. Enjoy!!!

Easy Gyros by Erin

Anyone for Greek? Well, I ADORE a good greek Gyro (pronounced Yeero), and this recipe is very simple, fast, and delicious!

Gyro Meat:
1 lb. ground lamb (ground beef works just fine as well)
1 C. chopped sweet onion
1 C. shredded zucchini (optinal, but a great way to incorporate veggies!)
Greek Seasoning (found in the seasoning aisle at the grocery store)
2 Tbsp. oil

Pour oil in skillet and cook the onions for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until they are soft. Add the meat and brown. Add zucchini and cook for a few more minutes. Drain the excess grease (there will be more if you use lamb, lean hamburger will hardly have any oil at all.)

Place on a pita bread round. Top with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Top with yogurt sauce (below).

Yogurt Sauce:
1 C. plain, unsweetened yogurt
1 C. shredded cucumber
1/2 C. lowfat sour cream
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Greek Seasoning
Salt and pepper

combine all ingredients in a bowl. Add greek seasoning to flavor, and salt and pepper if needed. Put on top of gyros, wrap and eat! Delicious!!!

15 minutes of fame...for my apron, anyway!

My friend was on KUTV 2 news today with another old friend of mine on a cooking segment, and guess what she wore?

A Saucy Frock apron!!!!!!!!

My apron is famous!!!!!

http://connect2utah.com/content/recipes/story/?cid=72591

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

I made this up once for a pot luck at my husband's work and it was sooo creamy and good! It has a smoky flavor from the smoked Gouda cheese, but you can substitute plain Gouda, or any cheese really and it would be just as good! (measurements are not *exact* but this is really a fool-proof dish. I can't remember the exact amount of water I added, so let it cook for a while before you add more water if needed. Again, any cheese combinations would work for this recipe. I even added pepper jack once and it was really good!)

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

1-8 0z. pkg. Cream Cheese (low fat works fine)
2 C. macaroni noodles, uncooked
1 C. grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 C. grated Smoked Gouda (in gourmet cheese section at grocery store)
1 C. Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Tbsp. Ground Mustard
1 Tbsp. corn starch mixed with 1/4 C. water
2 C. milk
about 4 C. water (enough to just cover the top of the ingredients)
Salt and pepper
*optional- 1 C. crumbled, cooked bacon (this is delicious!)

Add all ingredients to crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, high for 4-6 hours. Check consistency of sauce before serving, if too thick add milk or water, if too thin mix more cornstarch and water and let thicken for a few minutes before serving.

Erin's Tortilla Soup

                                                
I used to eat at this little mexican restaurant in Logan, Utah where they had the BEST tortilla soup. I know, who eats soup at a mexican restaurant, right? Well, this stuff was so good I did! When I moved I craved that soup so much so one night I made one up that comes pretty darn close! Try it- I get RAVE reviews every time I take it to a potluck, and it's about the easiest thing to make!

*This would also be perfect in the crock pot!!!

Erin's Tortilla Soup

1 can each:
chopped tomatoes (not drained)
corn ( not drained)
black beans (drained and rinsed)
small can chopped green chilies (whole is best, just chop them up)
cheddar soup

Pour into a pot and add:
2 T. ground chili powder
2 C. water
3 corn tortillas, cut in half and then into 1/2 inch strips
1 C. cooked and chunked chicken breast (I usually just boil the breast and chop it up)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the soup on medium heat for about a half hour, stirring frequently so the bottom doesn't scorch. Remove from heat when the soup is nice and thick and the tortillas have absorbed moisture and are nice and soft, practically falling apart as you stir. (if soup is too think you can add more water to desired consistency.)

Using 3-4 more corn tortillas, brush canola oil over both sides of them then cut them in half and then into 1/2 inch strips. Sprinkle lightly with salt and bake in 425 deg. oven until golden brown.

Dish soup into bowls, then add a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle some baked tortilla strips over the top and garnish with sliced avocado and fresh chopped cilantro!

A little info about Tomatoes

This isn't really a recipe, but some information I once learned about tomatoes that I think is very valuable.

Did you know that refridgerating tomatoes changes their molecular structure so they actually lose their flavor, and their texture becomes more mushy?

When you buy tomatoes at the store, they will ALWAYS taste better if you keep them out on the counter in a basket where the air can circulate around them. Of course, this means they don't last as long, but will taste much better. Of course, home grown tomatoes should NEVER be refridgerated- EVER! That is just... unthinkable! It makes me want to weep just thinking about those beautiful, red, juicy, sweet tomatoes being murdered in the fridge!

So, you'll all be sure to NOT refridgerate your tomatoes from now on, right?

Also, often when you purchase tomatoes from the store, they are not quite ripe enough. They will ripen over a few days' time on your counter, but if you happen to have greenish tomatoes you can still get them to ripen. Simply place them in a plastic bag with apples or a banana. The gasses from the fruit will encourage the tomato (also a fruit) to ripen more quickly!

So, there you go! Now you know more about tomatoes!

Artichoke Chicken

I've heard nothing but raves about this dish. It's very rich and creamy, and goes great with rice!

For the chicken:
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (can use chicken tenders, instead but double the number)
¼ c. flour for dusting chicken
Salt and pepper
¼ C. Olive Oil for pan

Split chicken breasts to half thickness. (if using tenders, omit splitting) Salt and pepper breasts. Lightly rub both sides with flour. Heat large skillet with olive oil. Place chicken into pan and cook on medium heat WITHOUT TURNING until you can see the bottom sides browning. (about 3 min.) Flip over and do the same on the other side. (breasts should be easy to turn if cooked until crisp on one side) Avoid over cooking chicken, as it will become tough. (cut center of breast to check for doneness. Chicken is done when it is white) Remove chicken from pan and place on serving plate. Cover with towel. Make sauce: (sauce can be made at same time if wanted)

*oven method: dust chicken with flour as above. Spray cookie sheet and place chicken on it. Spray tops of chicken breasts. Bake at 350 oven for 10-15 min. flip chicken over and bake for another 10 min. (lower fat, but harder to control tenderness of chicken)

Sauce:
1 half pint heavy whipping cream
1 pint half and half
1 Tbsp. Chopped Garlic
2 Tbsp. Butter
½ can artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
5 med. Mushrooms, sliced (or sliced zucchini, red pepper, or chopped spinach)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp Corn Starch (thinned with water- for thickening sauce)
¼ C. white wine or cooking sherry

In saucepan, add all ingredients EXCEPT cooking wine and corn starch. Let cook on medium heat until mushrooms are tender. Add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce is thickened. Add cooking wine and continue to cook on LOW heat. (if sauce is too thin, add more cornstarch and water mixture until desired thickness) Pour over chicken, garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

Crab Omelet with Hollandaise Sauce

This is easy, quick, and has a HUGE *WOW* factor!

4 eggs, beaten
1 C. shredded imitation crab flakes
¾ C. shredded cheese (cheddar, mont. Jack, or other)
Pinch of salt
2 T. oil for pan

Heat frying pan on med. with oil and pour in omelet eggs. Cover with lid for a minute or two, or until the eggs begin to firm up. Sprinkle ½ C. of the cheese and crab in center of omelet, fold over and recover, turning heat to low. (if necessary, add a little water to pan to help keep moist while cooking).
Remove omelet from heat and place on serving plate. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cover with Hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise sauce:
3 egg yolks, beaten
½ C. butter
1 T. + 1 tsp. Lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
Dash white pepper
2 T. hot water

* for extra fancy omelet, top with steamed asparagus before adding sauce and cheese.

Vegetarian Crock Pot Lasagna

I have another recipe for crock pot lasagna I got from a friend's recipe website,and it's the best lasagna I have EVER tried, honestly! But I adore veggie lasagna with alfredo sauce, so I made up my own. Be sure to use a crock pot liner (found in the foil and ziplock bag section of most grocery stores), it makes cleanup much easier!

Vegetarian Crock Pot Lasagna (Erin Taylor)

(this recipe is using a medium size crock pot. If you have a great big one, double the amounts, or you will have a very thin lasagna.)

step 1: assemble the sauce

1 bottle alfredo sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil
bottle of milk after sauce has been dumped into bowl
salt and pepper to taste

pour sauce into a bowl. Fill bottle with milk, shake to get all the sauce off the sides and dump into sauce. Add garlic powder and olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. set aside.

Step 2: Prepare vegetables and ricotta cheese

3 small zucchini (about 9 inches long and 2 inches across) sliced in small rounds
1 C. grated carrotts
2 C. spinach leaves, chopped or whole
2 medium tomatoes, sliced in rounds

1 small container ricotta cheese mixed with 1 egg, dash of salt, 1 tsp garlic powder,and 1 C. grated Mozzerella cheese

Step 3: layer lasagna

place 1/2 c. of the sauce in bottom of crock pot. Break up lasagna noodles (uncooked)so they will fit on bottom of pot. Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over noodles. Add one layer of half of the zucchini rounds neatly across ricotta cheese, then half the carrots, then all the spinach. Layer another layer of noodles, sauce, ricotta cheese, zucchini, carrotts, then chopped tomatoes. Pour half the sauce that's left over the top. Add one more layer of noodles and cover with remaining sauce.

Let cook in crock pot on medium for 6-7 hours or high for 4 hours. Add shredded mozzerella cheese the last 15-20 minutes of cooking until it's melted.

Fantastic!!!

*You can use pretty much any veggies you like, and a tomato based sauce would be delicious as well! Dare to experiment!!!