Kim’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Рецепт на русском!

There’s an entire post on CookingDevushki dedicated to the chocolate chip cookie bake off we did with my team here many years ago. That was such fun and definitely check out that post for more chocolate chip cookie fun and recipes!

This recipe, however, is my go-to recipe. And it comes to us from All-Recipes! Sometimes I like their recipes and sometimes I don’t, but my friend Jake shared this with me several years ago and it is just the best! Of course I had to alter it a bit for ingredients available in Russia (hello Patoka Maltoznaya!). You can click above for the Russian language version or even just watch the video below!

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Kim’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar (American, the moist kind) OR 1 cup sugar mixed with 2 TBS. patoka or 1 TBS molasses.
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. hot water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 C. flour
• 1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 C. milk chocolate chips (sometimes I do I mix of butterscotch and semisweet and milk chocolate because butterscotch is my jam!!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F / 180C.
2. Mix butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. (Note: This may seem weird but I suggest not skipping this step! Whenever I am in a hurry, I skip this, and the cookies are always flat and crispy instead of puffy and chewy like I like them!)
5. Stir in flour and chocolate chips.
6. Drop tablespoon size cookies onto baking pans.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly brown.

Gingerbread Men

It’s December and that means holiday baking time! I shared my gingerbread men recipe with my friend Lena for her advent calendar this year and realized it isn’t even on my own cooking blog! I have to remedy that immediately! …

Chicken Panang Curry

Oh I think you are really going to love this one.  I spent last summer in Colorado and I was just absolutely addicted to the Panang Curry they served at this Thai place that was a block from my apartment.  I went there way.too.much. Let’s just leave it at that.

This is a veggie version of that amazing dish. I truly loved making it at home!  Enjoy!

Chicken Panang Curry  adapted from Running on Real Food

Ingredients:

• 1 white onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 C. tomato paste
• 1 1/2 C. veggie broth
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1 TBS. pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• squeeze of Sriracha
• 2 chicken breasts, diced into small cubes, cooked
• brown rice to serve

Instructions:

1. Add the diced onion, diced carrot, and minced garlic to a skillet and cook over medium heat in in a little water until the veggies start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add additional water if needed to keep veggies from sticking to pan.
2. Add the zucchini and red pepper and stir to combine, again, adding water if needed to prevent sticking.
3. Add the tomato paste, curry powder, turmeric and salt.  Stir to combine and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Add the veggie broth and coconut milk and simmer lightly until the carrots are tender and it’s thick and creamy, about 15 minutes or so. Stir occasionally.
5. Stir in the maple syrup, peanut butter, Sriracha, and cooked chicken and cook for a few more minutes until the peanut butter is mixed in and the chicken is heated through.
6. Serve with brown rice or another grain of your choice.

Summer Corn Chowder

I don’t usually make soup that much in the summer.  Soup is more of a winter thing for me and we get a loooooooot of winter in these parts!  So by the time summer comes, I tend to eat a lot more simply…i.e. lots of finger food like bell pepper and hummus, sandwiches, fruit, popcorn, nuts, etc.

I decided to make an exception because this just looked so yummy.  And it was!  I hope you enjoy this tasty plant-based recipe!

Summer Corn Chowder adapted from The Minimalist Baker

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 C.)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 small red potatoes, quartered (I left the peels on, but you can peel them if you’d like.)
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cans of corn (or 3 ears with the kernels sliced off if corn is in season for you)
• 2 C. veggie/chicken broth
• 2 C. unsweetened plain almond milk or regular milk
• 2 TBS. cornstarch/water to make a slurry
• cheese, bacon for topping (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add a little olive oil to a medium-sized soup pot.  Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes.  Add a little water to keep the onion and garlic from sticking to the pan if needed.
2. Add potato, season with a little salt and pepper, and cover the pot with a lid for about 5 minutes.
3. Add 2 cans of corn.
4. Add broth and milk, cover, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
5. Use a hand blender to blend the soup to desired consistency. I like mine a little chunky but still with some creaminess to it.  Do whatever you like!
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Mix 2 TBS. cornstarch with a little water to make a thin paste and add this to the soup. (It’s called a slurry and it will help thicken that chowder right up!)  Simmer at least 10 minutes to let thicken. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful it will be.
8. To serve, top with a little cheese or bacon, if you are feeling wild. 🙂

Yummers! Enjoy!

Banana Almond Granola

Do you have any idea how much sugar is in most store-bought cereals and granolas?  I didn’t really think about it.  Muesli and granola – that’s healthy, right?  Well it can often have the appearance of being healthy while being a sugar bomb for your breakfast bowl!

Here is a yummy recipe granola.  I eat mine with plain greek yogurt and blueberries.  So yummy! Beware of flavored yogurts though…lots of sugar in there usually!

Banana Almond Granola adapted from Forks Over Knives

Ingredients:

• 8 C. rolled oats
• 2 C. dates, pitted and diced up
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F.
2. Add the oats to a large bowl and set aside. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Place the dates in a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add a little more water if needed to keep the dates from sticking to the pan.
4. Remove from the heat and add the mixture to a blender or food processor with the bananas, extract, and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy.
5. Add the date mixture to the bowl with the oats and mix well. Divide the granola between the two prepared baking sheets and spread out evenly.
6. Bake for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is crispy. At 50 minutes mine still wasn’t quite crispy, so I turned the oven up to 350°F and baked it for a little longer.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool.  (The cereal will get even crispier as it cools.)
8. Store the granola in an airtight container.