Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I believe this will be the last of any cookie recipes for a while. I'm all cookie'd out! The holidays can do that to me. Probably cuz almost half of my cookie consumption occurs around the holidays and then I'm scared/sick of them for the next several months.

I suppose it would be a bad thing for most people, but Hubby doesn't eat much sweets, so it's no problem to him at all.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 3 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together peanut butter, butter and sugars until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in egg and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
3. Add in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Use a fork to push down the balls to make a crosshatch pattern. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just turning golden brown.
5. Serve with ice cream and/or milk or coffee. You can also turn it into an ice cream sandwich by sandwiching a big scoop of ice cream between two cookies.

Eggnog Panettone Bread Pudding

I've always had a distaste for raisins in my food. I don't know why. I don't mind them when I eat them separately. I just don't like them in my food. It feels weird. But then I had some Afghan rice at some vegan restaurant and it was so yummy. Mind you, it's rice, so I'll almost always think it's the most amazing thing I put in my mouth. Rofl. Seriously though, I started thinking that maybe it's not so bad.

This Xmas we had Panettone bread and I've realized that I don't like eggnog that much by itself. Shocking. Kinda but not really. I've always mixed my eggnog with milk because I found it too sweet. In any case, so we had extra of both, so I made bread pudding. K loves it. I put it in his lunch for daycare and he ate all of it. Sweet. (Almost) Nothing makes me happier than when I see him polishing off food I make. :)


Eggnog Panettone Bread Pudding
(serves 6-9)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb panettone, cubed
• 2 cups eggnog
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 8" x 8" pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggnog, eggs, sugar and cinnamon. Toss in panattone, raisins and cranberries, making sure the bread is soaking up all the custard.
3. Pour into the pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the middle is set.
4. Cut into squares and serve with ice cream and coffee.

Boxed Dressing with a Twist

My grandma is very cute. She's super conscious of her weight, even though she's so thin the wind could probably blow her away. It's not like I try to fatten her up, but every time I make anything fattening, she'll just love it. I won't tell her what I used to make it taste so good but she'll always love it and eat "lots" of it. She doesn't eat very much and eats well, so I don't worry when she eats all the "bad" stuff once in a while.

I was tired and starting to get sick over Xmas so I didn't do my usual shopping trip required for a big Xmas dinner. Luckily, we do it potluck style where everyone brings a little bit of something. Maybe not so luckily since we had lots of leftovers. ANYWAY.........I didn't buy some things to make a "proper" stuffing/dressing, so I just used box. I needed to make it with a twist since plain old box stuffing is so bleh. Hence this little concoction. Tada! :P


Boxed Dressing with a Twist
(serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes of Uncle Ben's Stuff N Such for Turkey with Vegetables & Cranberries (or any other flavour)
• 1 lb lean ground pork
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 1/2 cups water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a medium pot, brown pork with the 2 seasoning packets. Stir in onions. Cook until translucent. 
3. Add in dried cranberries, the 2 bread packets and water. Stir until the bread is moist, everything is mixed well and heated through. Add more water if needed.
4. Transfer dressing to a 8" x 8" pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is crispy and golden. If you want a soft dressing, don't bake it. Just cover the pot and let it stand for 5 minutes or so. Stir to fluff up and then serve.
5. Serve with ham, turkey, pork chops, etc., and soup or salad.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was making a buttload of cookies and realized I ran out of brown sugar. OMG. The horror. How the hell could I have possibly ran out? I thought I had an extra bag in storage, but it was nowhere to be found. Maybe I just mis-remembered this. Oh well. I just found a substitute and that made it super crisp but super yummy.


Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp golden corn syrup
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter, sugar and corn syrup until fluffy.
3. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well combined. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, oats and baking soda in a separate medium bowl.
4. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and add in flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and mix until combined.
6. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a non-stick baking sheet (or parchment lined baking sheet) 2 inches apart. Use fork to make the crosshatch markings. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start to get golden brown.
7. Serve with milk, ice cream, coffee, etc.

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

More doggy biscuits! I had no bananas available so I made a different recipe for biscuits. I really should go look for a dog bone cookie cutter. Meh. As if M really cares. She sees us getting these out of her container and she immediately stands to attention and is ready for any command we throw at her. As long as we give her a piece afterwards. Lol. It's similar to when she smells us cooking bacon. Very cute.


Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits
(makes approx 4 dozen biscuits)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 1/4 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and oats. Stir in peanut butter and hot water until dough just comes together. Add more flour if it's too sticky or add a little more water or peanut butter if too dry.
3. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out into shapes. Arrange on baking sheet closely (they don't spread at all).
4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the edges just start to get golden brown. Turn off oven and leave biscuits to cool in the oven overnight. You can just take them out and cool like you would normal cookies, but this will make the biscuits stay fresh longer.
5. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Nutty Chocolate Bark

More Xmas goodies! Awesome for stocking stuffers. It's a wonder I don't gain a million pounds every winter. :|


Nutty Chocolate Bark
(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 
• 1 cup salted mix nuts

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. Melt chocolate chips (separately, in separate bowls) in the microwave in a medium microwave safe bowl on high until melted, stirring every 10 seconds.
3. Pour half of the melted dark chocolate on the parchment lined baking sheet, making about a 8" x 8" square-ish shape. Layer the nuts. Pour remaining dark chocolate over the nuts, leaving some uncovered, if desired. Drizzle with white chocolate.
4. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before breaking into pieces and devouring or storing in an airtight container. The bark will keep in the pantry for up to 4 weeks, if they last that long.

Ham & Pepper Fried Rice

OMG we always have so much leftovers after a Christmas dinner. Same for Thanksgiving too. Maybe next year I'll just make turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas. I really actually only like the ham. Hubby used to love turkey but he prefers ham now so really it's just the extended family that likes turkey.

I gotta say though, it's pretty amazing when you present a nicely cooked turkey to a big group of people. Makes you feel accomplish. ^^

Anywho, I used deli ham for the picture cuz I forgot to take a picture of the one with real ham and sometimes I need to get rid of deli ham quick. But who cares. It's still the same recipe. Only it tastes way more amazing with real ham that you've cooked using a picnic shoulder. Drool....


Ham & Pepper Fried Rice
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cold leftover white rice (1-3 days old)
• 1/2 lb ham (or any cooked meat or medium firm tofu), finely diced or crumbled
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 - 2 Tbsps ginger, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced
• Salt or soy sauce, to taste
• 2 Tbsps canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat a wok on high heat to warm up canola oil. Add in ginger, garlic and ham. Stir fry until ham starts to caramelize/brown. Add in eggs, stirring vigorously so that it doesn't burn and scrambles into tiny pieces.
2. When egg is still a little runny, add in bell peppers and rice. Stir to break up all the rice. Season with salt or soy sauce. 
3. Once the rice softens and is no longer in clumps, turn off the heat. Stir in green onions.
4. Serve with soup.

Eggnog Panettone French Toast Bake

Someone at Hubby's work gave him a Panettone for Xmas and told him that they make great French toasts. Excellent. I love French toast! I just don't like making them for more than 2 people since there's always someone who'll get cold or overcooked French toast from staying in the warmer too long. That being said, I wanted to make a baked French toast casserole thing with this instead of the traditional sliced breads.

Man, I really liked this. Hubby not so much but he almost never likes French toast anyway so that doesn't count. I only used half of our loaf so I'll have to make this again or find something else to cook using the Panettone. Hmmm...


Eggnog Panettone French Toast Bake
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb panettone, cubed
• 2 cups eggnog
• 6 eggs
• 2 Tbsps sugar
• 2 Tbsps packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Grease a 8" x 8" square pan and an aluminum foil that you'll be covering the dish with with butter. Set both aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except the panettone, until combined. Toss in panettone, making sure all of the cubes are soaking up the custard mixture.
3. Pour into the greased pan and cover with the greased aluminum foil. Set in the fridge overnight.
4. Take the pan out of the fridge and let it warm up for half hour before baking. 
5. Preheat oven to 350F.
6. Bake for 20 minutes with the foil on. Take the foil off and then bake for another 25-30 minutes, until the middle is cooked through.
7. Serve with bacon and warm maple syrup.

Christmas Oatmeal

I gotta call this my Christmas oatmeal. Simply because eggnog is only sold in our stores in December. I know I can probably just make my own, but there's something nice about only being able to get something once a year. It makes it more special. Plus the last time I tried making eggnog, it was pretty darn nasty. Albeit I was only 12 but still....


Christmas Oatmeal
(makes 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 cups eggnog (or 1 cup each of whole milk and eggnog)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Bring eggnog and cranberries to a gentle boil over medium heat. Be careful because it'll bubble over very quickly.
2. Stir in oats and a half pinch of salt. Cook until oatmeal thickens to desired consistency, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve with milk or diluted juice. 

I found this to be pretty sweet (almost like a dessert), so if you want, just use half whole milk and half eggnog for the little ones. :)

White Chocolate Cashew Clusters

This is as simple as it gets. And it's crazy yummy. Really a good idea if you need to make some quick snacks for goody bags or whatever. They were a hit last year for Xmas when I gave them out to the neighbours so I did it again this year. If you're feeling fancy, just drizzle some milk chocolate over each cluster. :)


White Chocolate Cashew Clusters
(makes 2 1/2 cups of clusters)

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
• 2 cups roasted and salted whole cashew

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in a medium microwave safe bowl on high for about a minute, or until melted, stirring every 10 seconds.
2. Mix in the cashew nuts until well coated. Add more cashews if you feel it's too chocolatey or use less if you want it more chocolatey.
3. Using a small spoon, scoop a bite size cluster and place it onto the parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cashews.
4. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before devouring or storing in an airtight container. The clusters will keep in the pantry for up to 4 weeks, if they last that long.

Snickerdoodles

A Christmas classic. :)

I love this recipe because the snickerdoodles always come out super "fluffy" and cakey.


Snickerdoodles
(makes 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 heaping Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, eggs and vanilla in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Add in the flour mix and mix until just blended.
4. In a separate small bowl, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Set each ball about an inch and half apart on the cookie sheet, flattening the middle slightly with your thumb.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until set but middle still looking soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about a minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. Serve with ice cream, coffee, milk, etc.

Maple Bacon Jam

This is the best spread for a ham sandwich. EVER. In place of mayonnaise, I'll use this if I have some at home. I could even eat it by the spoonful.


Maple Bacon Jam
(makes 2 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2  medium onions, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup strong coffee or espresso
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, cook bacon pieces until all the fat has been rendered. Transfer to a paper towel lined dish. Set aside.
2. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease from the pot. Stir in onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.
3. Stir in coffee or espresso, vinegar, brown sugar and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Add bacon and stir to combine. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.
4. Transfer everything to a food processor and pulse until slightly chunky.
5. Cool and store in mason jars in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. Use as a spread on sandwiches, or on toast.

Raisin Cranberry Apple Oatmeal

K has been having oatmeal since he was about 8 months old? Maybe a little older. But I've stopped giving him oatmeal for some time since he got sick of the Blueberry Oatmeal.

Now that he can have little chunks of apples without my having to worry about him choking, I almost never make him his Apple Pie Toddler Cereal. I probably can, since he still loves his applesauce. And I have so much brown rice leftover. Heck, yes I think I'll do that later today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, he still has about 2 cups of this oatmeal left. And he loves it. I mean who wouldn't? It's sweet from just the dried fruits I put in there!


Raisin Cranberry Apple Oatmeal
(makes 2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 apple, cored, peeled & diced
• Half pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Bring milk to a gentle boil over medium heat. Be careful because it'll bubble over very quickly.
2. Stir in oats, raisins, cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg and a half pinch of salt. Cook until oatmeal thickens, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Take oatmeal off the heat and stir in diced apples.
4. Serve with milk or diluted juice. 

Oatmeal can keep in the fridge for a up to 5 days. Add a splash of milk when heating up to loosen the oatmeal. Otherwise it may be too thick when reheated.

Asian Steak Salad

Okay, so the picture is not all that pretty and the steak isn't nicely arranged. Who cares? It was a yummy salad and I love the dressing. I can use that dressing for almost any salads I make...including the ones where I just use the spring greens and add roast beef and cheese. Yum.

The picture you see is of a whole steak with only half of the salad . We were craving meat, so yeah. Otherwise it'd look better and we wouldn't have been so overstuffed. :x


Asian Steak Salad
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsps lime juice
• 3 Tbsps soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsps sugar
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
• 2 1 inch thick striploin steaks, excess fat trimmed
• 1 300g package of mixed spring greens

Directions:

1. Combine canola oil, vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper in a mason jar to make dressing. Close the lid and shake hard. Set aside.
2. Place steaks in a large Ziploc bag and pour 1/3 or 1/2 of the dressing in the bag. Squeeze out all the air and let marinade for 10 minutes.
3. Heat up a hot grill pan until smoking hot. Take steaks out of bag and grill on grill pan until medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Grill more if you like it more cooked and grill less if you like it rare. Transfer to a rack or the cutting board to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toss spring greens in a large mixing bowl with the dressing and sesame seeds. Add more dressing if necessary. Transfer salad on a big serving platter or on individual plates. Set aside.
5. Slice steaks into strips and lay on top of the salad.
6. Serve on its own or with a wedge of garlic toast, or a baked potato.