Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp milk
• 1 TB vanilla
• 1 12oz bag semi or dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir into the wet ingredients. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir for about one minute.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips and stir until combined.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop cookies on by the spoonful. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Lion House Rolls

http://www.abountifulkitchen.com/2012/11/lion-house-rolls.html

2 cups warm water 
2/3 cup non fat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter , melted
2 teaspoons salt
5 -5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup additional butter for inside and top of rolls

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until dissolved.
Sprinkle yeast over warm water and add 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Let sit until yeast bubbles. 
Add  egg, additional 1/4 cup of sugar and melted butter.  Mix on low speed until ingredients are incorporated. Add  2 cups of flour. Mix well. Add two teaspoons of salt. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are mixed well. Increase speed of mixer for  2 minutes at medium speed.
Add 2 cups more flour; mix on low speed, then for 2 minutes as medium speed. (Dough will become stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand).
Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer.
Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.
(It may not be necessary to use the entire amount of flour.)
Scrape dough off sides of bowl and coat sides of bowl with about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil  around sides of the bowl,  so it is covered with oil.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place until double in size.
After dough has risen, sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and place dough on floured surface.
Roll out and cut rolls.  See note below to watch instructional video on the method use in making Lion House Rolls.
Place on greased (or parchment lined) baking pans.
Let rise in warm place until rolls are double in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours).
Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.
Brush with melted butter while hot.

Tips:
-The video mentioned is found here.
-I tried the method shown in the video but was unable to flip the rolls and have the rolls turn out in a uniform way. I simply rolled the dough on a floured surface and placed them on the pan to rise. 
-If you are making these ahead of time, make the rolls up to the point where the rolls are placed on the cookie sheet. Do not let them raise a second time, cover with a sheet of wax paper and then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place immediately in freezer. When ready to bake, take out of freezer about 4 hours prior to baking. Remove plastic wrap and wax paper. Cover loosely with a towel. Let sit in draft free warm place until rolls raise. Do not set pan directly on granite or stone counter top. The counter will be too cold to allow rolls to raise properly. Set a towel down on the counter first, then place the pan on top of the towel.

Mashed Potatoes

4 cups cubed red potatoes
2 tablespoons horseradish
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 cup shredded gouda cheese

Or:

3-4 Lbs. Russet potatoes
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sour cream
Garlic, salt, & pepper, to taste

Tips:* Melt butter in saucepan, add Garlic and cook on low heat for a minute or so. * Warm milk before combining Garlic butter so that you don't cool off potatoes.* Add butter and milk and heat in microwave until butter is melted. 

Tortilla soup

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
-3 to 4 cans of chicken broth
-1 can of cream of chicken
-1 can of whole kernel corn
-1 can of black beans
-1 can of rotel
-one bushel of cilantro
-1 lime
-shredded cheese
-avocado
-pre-cooked rotisserie chicken
-Pace Picante sauce (medium size jar)
-tortilla chips

Prep
Pour chicken broth, cream of chicken, corn (drained), black beans (rinsed), rotel, and pace picante sauce in large pot. Add almost all cilantro, and squeeze lime in as well. Then pull apart chicken (do not use the skin) and add to pot. Stir and then bring all to a boil. Turn down to low heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Topping: avocado, cheese, tortilla chips

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*

1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*

1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher

2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli

Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – mine holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. 

http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-only-chocolate-chip-cookie-i-will-ever-need-to-know-how-to-make-for-the-rest-of-my-life.html

Cheesy Potato Soup

Potato Soup

http://www.goddessofcooking.com/category/soupstew/

Ingredients:

3 large russet poatoes, washed and diced
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
4 cup veggie stock
2 cup water
2 cup milk
1 tsp thyme
1 or 2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
ham bone
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
(I added 1 cup white beans, and lots of cheese)
sliced scallions for garnish

What To Do:

If using the ham bone, place it in a pot and add in the veggie stock and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the bone to cool and transfer the broth to a heat safe bowl. Return the pot back to the stove and add in the oil. Add in the potatoes, carrot, onion, celery and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until they start to soften, about 5-10 minutes. Pour in the stock you set aside, along with the thyme and bay leave. Remove whatever ham is left on the bone and add that into the pot as well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to just barely a simmer. Cook like this for 1 hour. Turn the heat back up to medium and stir in the milk and slowly stir in the both the cheeses. Once it starts to bubble again, turn the heat back to low and slowly stir in as much potato flakes as you desire. Make sure you give the potato flakes a chance to work, they won’t thicken it as quickly as flour would. Serve with a bit of cheddar cheese and scallions on top.

Sweet Glazed Carrots

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/candied-carrots-10000001642107/index.html

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds small carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the maple syrup, salt, cayenne, and 1/4 cup water. Add the carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the carrots are just tender and the glaze has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes, tossing gently every few minutes. Sprinkle with the pepper.