Vanishing oatmeal Cookies

Off of Quaker Oats lid, we love them! (especially as cookie bars)
2 sticks butter softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups oats (old fashioned or quick)
1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350. Beat the sugars and butter until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Add in the combined dry ingredients. stir in oats and raisins by hand.
Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. OR bake in a 9 X 13 ungreased metal baking pan for 30-35 minutes

Fried Ravioli

I love Olive Garden. I never seem to live close by one though. So I was in the mood for some good italian and replicated one of my favorite appetizers.
Package of refrigerated cheese ravioli
Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
1 TBS water
olive oil

Place enough oil in a small pan fry the ravioli. (I used a small sauce pan and probably 1/2 C olive oil). Heat over medium so oil will be hot.

in a bowl pour out some bread crumbs (1/2 C) and in another bowl beat the egg and water.
Dip a ravioli in the egg mixture coating well, then dredge it in the bread crumbs.
Place in the hot oil and let it cook for about 1 minute on each side.
Remove once golden brown and puffed, and let drain on paper towels.

Very easy and very yummy!!
For a dipping sauce I just use 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes italian style (so it has basil and oregano and garlic), put it in the blender and pulse for a few seconds. I love chunky tomato sauce to dip these tasty treats in!

Easy Pasta

3/4 cup olive oil (You can use a lot less. Just make sure the pasta is coated in it)

1 pound rigatoni, rotini, or penne pasta

Two 14.5-ounce cans diced italian style tomatoes

Two 14.5-ounce cans stewed italian style tomatoes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place oil in a large bowl. Add dry pasta and stir until well coated; let stand for 20 minutes.

2. Add tomatoes to pasta mixture; season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer to a 2 1/2-quart baking dish or 9X13 pan. Cover aluminum foil. Bake, stirring every 10-15 minutes with a spoon, for 45 minutes to 60 minutes until pasta is tender.
3. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately.

Chili's Southwest Egg rolls

We don't eat out often. Maybe once a month, MAYBE. One place we like is Chili's. After last weekend Travis has just wanted the southwest egg rolls. I must admit they are very good. So the search was on to find a recipe. And I found one! I just tried it out and I LOVE them!! It was on allrecipe.com and it is just like Chili's. A few things I did different is:
1) I baked them instead of deep frying them. I'm sure the frying would make them taste identical but I chose to bake them at 450 for 10-15 minutes and spraying PAM on them. I also only put them in the freezer for maybe two hours because we were hungry :)
2) since I have picky eaters I didn't use onions or the peppers. I used onion powder, and then 4 shakes of red pepper flakes. I think it could use a little more but i would recommend using that much until you've made them once.
3) And since I didn't want to go to the store I used dried parsley instead of fresh. I also just used canned corn instead of frozen.
4) I couldn't find the Montery Jack Cheese so I just got the mexican blend which had that in it
Now I would eyeball the recipe since the measurements are kinda weird. And it is a pretty forgiving recipe if you don't have exactly 1/3 cup of something, you know. Enjoy!

Risotto

IF you've never had risotto I highly recommend it. It is a creamy rice but it is pretty simple to make. Travis says it reminds him of rice and cream of chicken but it isn't as fattening. I usually use this recipe from food network. I do things a little different so I'll use an asterisk to say what I do differently.
Risotto is a traditional Italian comfort food made most often with a variety of short-grain rice called Arborio, which absorbs a lot of liquid and becomes quite plump and creamy. We usually prepare rice by adding the liquid to the rice all at once and leaving it to cook, covered and unattended. With risotto, you add the hot liquid to the rice gradually, stirring constantly. All this stirring may seem like a lot of work, but the warm, creamy risotto that results is well worth the effort.
1 medium-size yellow onion
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
5 cups or more chicken broth, canned or homemade
2 cups Arborio rice (available in many supermarkets or specialty food stores)
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparing the Rice

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Melt the butter in a 4-to-5-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring regularly.

Add the onion and cook, continuing to stir, until it turns soft and translucent. Turn the heat down if the onion starts to brown. **Since I have picky eaters I usually don't do the onion. I just use a bit of onion powder. I let that cook with the butter for a few minutes before I had the rice.**

Meanwhile, pour the chicken broth into a separate saucepan, set over medium heat, and bring to a gentle simmer. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain this simmer the whole time you are preparing the risotto. **I almost always use 6 C maybe more. I would use 2 cans and then just add 1 1/2 of water at first. If it looks like I am running out I add another cup of water.****

Once the onion is soft, add the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary -- if the rice is cooked at too high a heat, it will turn brown and take on an undesirable flavor. **This is key!! The rice will turn a bit translucent. That is when I add the liquid**

Adding the Liquid to the Rice

Using a ladle, scoop up about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of broth. Pour it in the pan with the rice, stirring constantly with a spoon. After the first addition of broth, the rice mixture will look a bit soupy.

As the rice begins to cook, stir it constantly, making sure that you scrape along the bottom of the pan so that it does not stick. You should see little bubbles popping up on the liquid from time to time. If it bubbles more vigorously than this, turn the heat down to medium-low.

When most of the liquid is absorbed into the rice and the rice begins to look a bit dry, add another ladle of broth to the pan and stir constantly, as before.

Determining When the Risotto Is Cooked

Continue to add the broth in 1/2-to-3/4-cup batches and stir the rice until you have used most of the broth (this will probably take about 20 minutes). It is now time to test whether the risotto is cooked. Spoon up a grain of rice and bite into it -- it should be tender without being too mushy. If it is still crunchy and tastes a bit starchy, you will need to continue adding liquid and cooking further. **here it usually takes 25-35 minutes depending on the day**

If it looks as if you will run out of chicken broth and your rice is still not cooked, don't be alarmed. Because of variations in individual stoves and cooking temperatures, you may need more liquid than called for in the recipe. Simply heat up another cup or 2 of chicken broth (or water).

When the rice is tender and the risotto has a creamy consistency, almost like thick oatmeal, it is done.

*Once it is done I add usually 2 more TBS butter and the cheese. I like to use sautéed mushrooms (portabella or the white buttons). I slice up a package and then sautee them in the pan with a little oil. I take them out and then follow the rest of the recipe since it cuts down on the dishes. If you use mushrooms I would recommend VEGETABLE BROTH and not chicken broth. Hope you enjoy! Remember you have to keep an eye on this and stir it a bit.

Pasta Dinner

Last night I made some pasta and decided to change things up a bit. This recipe like most others is just done on looks.
Cooked half pound of pasta (penne type)
any veggies cooked
olive oil
bread crumb
garlic
pepper

So I used diced and fried zucchini. But I would try some cooked spinach, broccoli, peppers (probably the red kind, or orange or yellow), mushrooms, panchetta (or bacon. it's basically the same). Well you get the idea.
So fry up your veggies with garlic (or the powder) in some olive oil and then add the bread crumbs, about 1/2 C or two handfuls. Toast those up and then add some more EVOO (some Rachel Ray for you) about 1/4 of a cup and add your pasta. Stir until everything is mixed. You might need to add more oil but just do it until it has the desired about on it. Then mix in some parmassean cheese and VIOLA! Chloe liked it and so did travis.

Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

I saw this on an episode of Paula Deen. Let me just say this cake is FANTASTIC!!!! It is very rich though and not very figure friendly. So if you are gonna make it make sure you are giving most away! If I have food sitting around the house I'll eat it, and that isn't always good. I am just gonna give the link to the recipe because I don't feel like typing and my camera still isn't working so sorry no picture. Enjoy!!!

Deceptively Delicious

I recommend buying Deceptively delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It had great ideas for getting kids, and parents, to eat better. She just adds veggie purees to her food and the kids never know. Once you get it you'll start making up your own recipes that will be FANTASTIC! My friend Melissa recently just put this on her blog and I had a recipe that was pretty much the same so I though I'd post it. I call it Shrek Juice so Chloe will think it is extra cool. And its SUPER healthy!

1 banana
2-3 big spoonfuls of OJ concentrate
2-3 big handfuls of baby spinach (you can you mature spinach just strip the stem/vein off. if you want more instruction email me or use the book above as reference)
a little water and ice
blend in a blender until smooth and viola! Shrek juice! sometimes I like it more orangy so you can add more, or more banana. If you want to make it for 2 just double banana and OJ and then pack your blender full of spinach.

Awesome Bread

Here is a recipe from one of my friends. I just tried it out last night and everyone likes it so I thought I'd share.
1/2 C honey
1 TBS oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 C warm water
4 C flour (white or wheat. i think i might like it made with wheat...but i'll have to make it that way next time.)
1 yeast package (or 2 tsp)
**Ok if using wheat use 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white (unbleached is a bit better for you). I would also try grinding up some whole grain cereal or some oats and substituting a cup of that for the wheat or white.
Now my friend made it in a bread machine so she said put all in and your done. I put everything together and mixed it in my BOSCH (i think that is how it is spelled) with the dough hook, for 5 minutes instead of kneading it by hand. I think if you do it by hand it should be for 8-10 minutes. (And no I didn't make it up I read it on-line ). Then let it rise (I turn the oven to 200 and once it gets there turn it off) in the bread pan in a warm place (I choose the oven), and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I got this one off the back of my Del Monte Raisins, and LOVE IT! I did add a little more flour than what is called for because they weren't holding well and it worked better with more flour. Also a side note, the cookies look like they aren't done when they are so just follow the time it says. And yesterday I bought some dried cranberries at the commissary and I ate one and they were more tart than I was expecting. ( I usually get the Ocean Spray but tried a different brand, bad idea. ) So instead of just raisins I added a cup of the cranberries and a big handful of raisins and almonds and it was great! Anyways, my point you can add anything and it is pretty good.

1 1/4 C Flour (i added the 1/4 so if you want to try it first without it just do the 1 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter (1 stick) softened
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp vanilla (i did 1 tsp. and 1/2 tsp pure almond extract and it went great with the cranberries)
2 1/4 C Oats (again i added the 1/4)
1 C raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugars, butter, milk, egg, and vanilla; beat well. You want it to become light and fluffy and smooth. I went for about 3-4 minutes. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins and mix well.
Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes (I like to go for 10) until a light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

My Favorite Cookie

I had these over the break and they are my new favorite cookies! My dad got it as a gift in a jar it looked really cute but the cookies are the best part. So here is the recipe for it and it is for putting it in the jar so some ingredients are split up for the layering.
Cranberry Hootycreeks

• 5/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts and it tasted just as good)

1. Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart or 1 liter jar, in the order listed.
2. Attach a tag with the following instructions: Cranberry Hootycreeks 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until fluffy. Add the entire jar of ingredients, and mix together by hand until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Cool on baking sheets, or remove to cool on wire racks.

There is a good picture of how it looks but I can't get it to up load so here is the site