My Mama's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mama's Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Mama. Possibly from Nestle, but Mama has had the recipe for so long I don't know.)

2 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup butter flavored Crisco
3/4 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 eggs
12 Ounce chocolate chips

Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

*You can choose semisweet or milk chocolate. Fun to use a combination of them both, although Mama always used only semi-sweet.

Opinions: I don't think there's anything to say about this, other than the fact that these are the chocolate chips that my Mama has made for as long as I can remember. Really, before I can remember. I absolutely love these. I love my Mama; she basically rocks.


As always, comments are love.

Onion Cheese Soup

This was one of these "well we can try it once" recipes. It was surprisingly pleasant.... I kept going back and forth on if I thought it would be good or not, but in the end we decided to do it.

Onion Cheese Soup
(TOH)

1 Large onion, chopped
3 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
4 Cup milk
8 Ounce shredded colby-jack cheese
seasoned salad croutons
grated parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions:
In a large saucepan, saute the onion in butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Serve with croutons and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Serving Size: 6


Opinions: We both liked it! It wasn't very onion-y, which was a bit of a surprise. I definitely liked adding the croutons and the parmesan. This is something I would like to make again. Not often, but I would make it again.

As always--comments are love!

Tator Taco Casserole

I love tacos. Quite a lot, actually. And we had some extra tator tots from some recipe or another, so I thought this was worth a shot.

Tator Taco Casserole
(TOH)

2 Pound ground beef
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 envelope taco seasoning
2/3 Cup water
11 Ounce whole kernel corn
11 Ounce condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup, undiluted
32 Ounce frozen tator tots

Instructions:
In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in corn and soup. Transfer to a greased 3x9 baking dish. Arrange tator tots in a single layer over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are crispy and golden brown.

Serves: 8

Opinions: We both liked it! Nate was moderately surprised that he liked it. It even reheated well! I would definitely make it again.

Mushroom Chicken Tetrazzini

This is something I made awhile ago, but am just getting added to my Recipe Manager.

Speaking of Recipe Manager, I saw an awesome new program at Apple the other day. It's from Food Network, and looks quite a bit better than my Recipe Manager. Definitely snazzier. I have been getting quite dissatisfied with Recipe Manager lately. I am not happy with the personalization features (or lack thereof), and general setup. The Food Network program looked very classy, with a nice easy-to-read design and a few more features. However, it's taken forever to get the recipes in Recipe Manager that I have; transferring those to another program seems like an awful pain.

Back on topic! I made this shortly after Christmas, when we had leftover turkey from Mama's. (The smoked turkey Daddy made for Christmas... Have I mentioned I love my parents? I love them quite a lot. I know making that is a pain, but I say 'pretty please,' volunteer to bring dessert, and Daddy does it for me. I know, I'm spoiled. My Dad rocks, though. Mama does too, she just usually rolls her eyes when I'm bribing Dad with food, and tells me how spoiled I am. Don't let them fool you though; they love the smoked turkey as much as I do.)

Wow. I can't stay on topic for anything tonight. So, here's this dinner I made awhile ago. (Nothing I can get sidetracked on there!)

Mushroom Turkey Tetrazzini
(TOH)

12 Ounce uncooked spaghetti, broken into 2" pieces
1 bouillon cube, chicken
1/2 Pound sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 Cup chicken broth or sherry
1/2 Teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/8 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Cup fat-free evaporated milk
2/3 Cup grated parmesan, divided
4 Cup cubed cooked turkey
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika

Instructions:
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, reserving 2 1/2 cups cooking liquid. Stir bouillon into cooking liquid and set aside. Place spaghetti in a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in sherry/broth and reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Reduce heat to low; stir in milk and 1/3 cup parmesan until blended. Add turkey; cook and stir until heated through. Pour turkey mixture over spaghetti and toss to combine. Sprinkle with paprika and remaining parmesan.
Cover and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Opinions: Nate & I both liked it! Personally, I am not a huge fan of paprika, so I would not add that again. Other than that, it was pretty good, and reheats well.

Make again: Yes! No paprika though. And, I may find a substitute for the evaporated milk. I didn't use all of the can I bought, and the rest of it just went to waste.


Serves: 4
Yields: 8 servings
Prep Time: 35 m
Cook Time: 25 m
Total Time: 1 hr