My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It comes from my BFF roommate from college, Jacque.  She's given me other great recipes.  Like the Easy Pudding Dessert, or the Easy Chicken Tacos.  And I'm pretty sure Jacque was the one who opened my eyes to Easy Pumpkin Cookies.  These delicious, moist, light and fluffy chocolate chip cookies?  Not so easy.  Not that they are actually very hard, but it is a really big recipe.  So big, in fact, that the title is "Big Family Chocolate Chip Cookies" by Betty Bell.  That is a big title, that even has the word "big" in it!  I half it every time I make it (which takes some mad math skills and amazing egg splitting abilities).  However, they are also big in flavor, and totally worth the extra math effort (or not, if you are in need of a huge batch of cookies).  So bake up a ginormous batch today!!

Big Family Chocolate Chip Cookies
by: Jacque (via her mother, Betty)

7 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. shortening
1 3/4 c. white sugar
1 3/4 c. brown sugar 
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 Tbsp. water
5 eggs
1 bag chocolate chips 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening.  Add the sugars (I always reduce my sugar and it still tastes great and bakes up normally), water, vanilla and eggs and cream it until it is light and fluffy.  Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix it well.  Then add the flour and stir it to combine.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. 

Slow Cooker Sun Dried Tomato Basil Chicken

 

One day I was searching for a good slow cooker chicken recipe.  I read a number of recipes, but nothing sounded like what I wanted.  I finally decided that I could make up my own recipe using what I had available.  So I did.  And it turned out great!  The funny thing is, I thought I was so original, but in the end, it was very similar to one of my favorite recipes, chicken milano.  It was a Freudian Slip, I guess.  I couldn't get away from that flavor combination in my mind.  However, this recipe was done in the slow cooker, which is always lovely for the easiness.  I served it with garlic mashed potatoes, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and it was delicious!

Slow Cooker Sun Dried Tomato Basil Chicken
by: Carolyn

2 chicken breasts
1/2 c. sundried tomatoes
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. dried basil (fresh would be great if you had it on hand-I did not)
1/2 tsp. pepper
a few grinds of sea salt
1/2 c. whipping cream

Place the chicken breasts in your crock pot.  Add the sundried tomatoes (I chop mine up first), chicken broth, basil, pepper and salt.  Cook for 4-5 hours on high.  Add the whipping cream for the last 30 minutes of cooking.  Serve it with garlic mashed potatoes and Parmesan cheese.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

I make these muffins all the time.  They are delicious and healthy, and they are perfect to send in my kid's lunches for school.  I freeze them in a big ziploc bag, then pull one out in the morning, put it in a baggie in their lunch box and it will be thawed and ready to eat when they are!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
by: runningonipsum.com

3 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. sugar (sometimes I do half white, half brown)
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla 
2 c. grated zucchini
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two muffin pans (it makes 24 muffins).  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  In another bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, applesauce, milk, lemon juice and vanilla.  Stir that into the dry ingredients until it is moistened.  Fold in the zucchini.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake them for 20-25 minutes.