Monday's Menu Item

Photo credit: MeeMom

Note: It has taken (literally) years for MeeMom to find a chocolate chip cookie recipe that works for her.  This is THE recipe!  Enjoy.

MeeMom's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
2 cups butter (no substituting)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond oil (or 1/2-1 teaspoon almond extract)
4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips (DooDad prefers milk chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugars until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla and almond oil. Add dry ingredients: flour, salt, and soda.  Mix until incorporated into dough.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Make cookie dough balls the size of golf balls.  Place 2x3 on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes on until golden brown.  Remove from pan and let cool on cookie rack . . . if they last that long!

Monday's Menu Item

photo credit: MeeMom
Pizza Soup with garnishes

We know, we know.  It doesn't sound so good, but try it once and you'll be hooooooooked!  In our family, we like to start with the soup as the base and then have a bunch of "garnishes" or "sides" that are added to the soup.  This allows for everyone to put in their soup what they like. That means they'll eat every bite instead of picking out the onions and the olives and the peppers and . . . .


PIZZA SOUP
Feeds a Hungry Family of Eleven

1-2 pounds ground beef or Italian sausage (or both)
2-3 Tablespoons oil
2 large cans or bottles of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2-14oz cans of Italian tomatoes, pureed
6 cups chicken broth (or 6 cups water + 7 boullion cubes)

Brown meat in oil.  Drain and rinse.  Place remaining ingredients in large stock pot or slow cooker.  Let simmer for an hour or longer, if you have a lot of time.

Soup Garnishes/Sides:
cooked macaroni or shell pasta
bell peppers
onions
cheeses (Mozarella, Parmesan, Cheddar, Colby)
fried pepperoni (yum!)
kidney beans
black olives

Serve with bread sticks or garlic toast

Monday's Menu Item



photo credit: MeeMom
Waffles with sour cream sauce and fresh peaches!

Truth be told we DO have breakfast for dinner!!  This is one of our very favorites!

WAFFLES WITH THE WORKS
Yield: Enough for a hungry Family of Eleven
(This is a perfect recipe for a Belgian Waffler Iron)

5 1/4 cups white or wheat flour (or half and half of each)
3 Tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
5 1/4 cups milk (I always use pre-made powdered milk)
1 1/2 cup oil

Place all ingredients in a large mixer.  Beat until smooth.  Bake in heated waffle iron.

Serve with all or some of the following:
Maple Syrup
Peanut Butter
Powdered Sugar
Fresh Fruits
Jams or Jellies
Honey
Ice Cream
Whipping Cream
Yogurt
Sour Cream Sauce: mix with sugar to taste and a drop or two of almond oil
Fruit Sauce

Monday's Menu Item

photo credit: MeeMom

BUTTERSCOTCH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Yield: Enough cookies for a Family of Eleven

3 sticks butter, softened and almost melting
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars until well blended.

3. Mix in eggs and vanillla.

4. Gradually add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, beating until well blended.

5. Stir in oats and chips

6. Make into racquentball-sized balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 8- 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet an dplace on wire rack.

8. Watch them disappear!

Monday's Menu Item

photo credit: MeeMom

Here is the Argentine Dinner we made last week. Mmm, it is always a treat to eat what DooDad loves. This meal takes a lot of time to prepare but it is so worth it. I didn't use a recipe for the Milanesa Nepolitana, so I will give you the basics of what we did. (Nepolitana means it is layered with sauce and cheese. You could eat it without it if you would like).

The Gnocchi's are best served with your favorite sauce - red or white - and then sprinked with Parmesean or Mozzarella cheese!

MILANESA NEPOLITANA
Chicken Breast and a beef roast (we asked the butcher to slice it as thin as he could)

1 column Soda Crackers
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoon Basil
1 Tablespoon Oregano
1 - 3 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

Bowl #1: Crush soda crackers until fine. Add all other ingredients.

Bowl #2: Beat 3 eggs with 1/8-1/4 cup milk.

Tenderize beef. You could fillet your chicken breasts and pound them a little if you like. We just filleted them.

Dip meat in egg mixture, then in dry mixture.

Fry in 355 degree oil until golden to medium brown or until meat is done in the middle. (Will take longer for chicken if your beef is thinly sliced).

Spread a thin layer of your choice of marinara sauce and sprinkle with Mozzerella.


GNOCCHI'S - Potato "Dumplings"
2 pounds baking potatoes, washed but not peeled
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour

1. Steam potatoes until tender. While still hot, peel potatoes, place them in bowl and mash.

2. Beat in egg and salt. Slowly mix in flour.

You want the dough to be soft and firm, but not sticky.

3. Turn mixture on floured surface and knead.

4. Put a pot of salted water to boil.

5. To form gnocchi's: Break off small pieces of dough and roll to make short ropes. With a knife cut

them into 1" pieces. Press gently each piece with the tines of a fork. (This is not really necessary, it just makes it look nice).

6. If just one person is cooking, you may want to form all your gnocchi's before boiling them. If this is the case, place gnocchi's on floured napkins so it can absorb the moisture from the potatoes.

7. Drop the gnocchi - several at once - into the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes of until they rise up to the surface. (No, they won't turn brown as one of our children asked how we would know it was done).

8. Remove cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon and drain well.

9. Set gnocchi's on a clean, dry dish towel for a few moments and then place on a platter.

10. Cover to keep warm while cooking remaining dumplings.