The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

No need to look any further. You have just found the best Chocolate Chip Cookie! Loaded with chocolate and chopped walnuts, this big batch will have your cookie monsters coming back for more!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 1/4 tsps baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 tsps vanilla

2 eggs

1 egg white

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup swirl (white and chocolate) chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Coarse sea salt for topping (optional)

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

Next, cream the butter and sugars together, then add the vanilla, eggs and egg white. Beat until frothy. Add the dry ingredients in three additions just until combined and fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Take heaping tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into balls. If using the coarse salt (it really does add a nice sweet and saltiness to the cookies) lightly dip the top of the ball in the salt then place the ball on a lined cookie sheet.

Very gently press the top down, no need to squish it flat. You can also add more chopped walnuts or chocolate chips to the top if you like.

Bake at 360°F for 12-14 minutes.

This batch makes 53 cookies.

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Gazing Ball Bunny

Old is new again ... with a simple crafty solution this old garden bunny is glitzed up and ready to shine again!

This bunny used to have a large gazing ball on it's back many years ago. But it has long since been broken. Kept the bunny in the garden but always had to tip water out of the depression left by the gazing ball. 

Today inspiration struck! Just mixed up some all-purpose preblended concrete and filled the hole. Then I took three old unbreakable gold Christmas balls and stuck them upside-down in the concrete.

And voilà, bunny is ready to sparkle in the garden again!

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Pork, Veggie and Watermelon Kebabs

Super easy summer staple ... kebabs. And totally customizable. Use your favourite veggies and you can swap out Italian salad dressing for whatever's in your fridge. Grilled watermelon takes on a smokey, sweet flavour that becomes surprisingly firm. Don't like watermelon? Grill up some pineapple or peaches instead!

Ingredients:

3 or 4 pork loin cutlets

Onion

Bell pepper

Watermelon

Zucchini

Mushrooms 

Italian salad dressing

First, soak wooden skewers in water for 15 or 20 minutes.

Cut the pork in squares and pour some salad dressing over the meat to marinate for about 1 hour in the fridge. These cutlets were about 1/2" thick so they cooked up quickly!

Slice the onion in half and pull layers of onion apart. Slice the pepper in squares and cut the zucchini in thick slices. Cut thick chunks of watermelon and the mushrooms can be left whole.

Feed everything onto the skewers then pour Italian dressing over it all.

Grill on a hot BBQ about 15 minutes then serve with rice.

Serves 3 or 4

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Ravioli Sauce with Red Onion and Pesto

Fancy doesn't have to mean fussy. This pretty plate took under 30 minutes to make start to finish. Keep a bag of frozen ravioli in the freezer. Nothing wrong with dressed up store bought pasta!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 tbsp finely chopped marinated hot pepper rings

1/2 cup light olive oil 

2 tbsps pesto 

Fresh parsley chopped to serve

1 1/2 lbs (700 g) fresh ravioli (I used cheese and spinach here)

Start cooking the ravioli as directed.

Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan. Add red onion and sauté until softened then add the hot peppers. Stir together then add the rest of the ingredients and heat through. 

Once the ravioli is ready, drain then add to the saucepan. Stir to coat.

Plate your ravioli with lots of chopped parsley.

Serves 4

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Tuscan Chickpea Salad

As a light summer meal (is summer ever going to get here?), a quick and nutritious side dish or a packed lunch that your co-workers will be envious of, you'll be wanting to make this Mediterranean salad on repeat all summer.

 

Ingredients:

6 oz jar marinated artichokes, drained

1 roasted bell pepper, diced

19 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

fresh parsley

Dressing:

1/3 cup light olive oil

3 tbsps red wine vinegar

3 tsps honey

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dry basil (1-2 tbsps fresh)

1 tsp dry oregano (2 tbsps fresh)

salt and pepper

Combine all the veggies in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients in a jar, shaking well to dissolve the honey. Pour into the bowl and toss to coat. This salad can be made a couple of days in advance. Just top with fresh chopped parsley.

Serves 6

Adapted from: asimplepalate.com

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Sweet and Sour Pork Meatloaf

We tend to think beef when we think of meatloaf, but consider ground pork as an economical and higher protein choice. And adding this sweet and sour glaze gives it that little extra oomph!

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/4 cup apple butter (see homemade apple butter recipe link at the end of this post)

1/2 cup shredded unpeeled apple

1 tbsp dry onion soup mix

1 tsp minced garlic

salt and pepper or Mrs Dash to taste

2/3 cup oats

1 lb ground pork

Glaze:

1/2 cup sweet chili sauce

2 tbsps apple jelly

2 tbsps apple butter

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp turmeric

black pepper to taste

Combine the egg, 1/4 cup apple butter, shredded apple, onion soup mix, minced garlic, salt, pepper and oats. Then add the pork and mix well, using your hands helps squish it all together. Form into a loaf shape about 7 X 3 X 2" and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Mix the glaze ingredients together. Reserve 1/3 cup of glaze for later then spread the remaining glaze on top of the loaf.

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. Brush on the reserved glaze and return to the oven at 400°F for 20 minutes. It's ready when the internal temperature reaches 160°F.

Let sit 10 minutes before slicing.

Adapted from: mamagourmand.com

Crockpot Apple Butter recipe:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2021/10/crockpot-apple-butter.html

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Sweet Potato Hash

This colourful hash goes well beside just about any protein you like and if you want to keep it vegetarian toss in some chickpeas or kidney beans for a hearty meal.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

3-4 tbsps olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp black pepper

fresh parsley

Scrub the sweet potato clean, pierce a couple of times with a fork then microwave 2-3 minutes on high so that it just starts to get soft. Set aside. 

Dice the onion and bell pepper and heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet to medium high heat. Add the onion and pepper and sauté 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute longer. While this cooks peel and dice the sweet potato and when ready make a well in the center of the onions and peppers. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the potatoes. Cook 1-2 minutes without stirring.

Now stir together revealing the caramelized edges on the diced sweet potato. Add the seasonings. If you like toss another tablespoon of olive oil in just before serving.

And serve with fresh chopped parsley.

Makes 2-4 servings

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3 Ingredient Fruit Squares

Just 3 ingredients and 30 minutes of your time and you've got a sweet, dense square the consistency of a brownie. Change up the recipe with different fruit depending on your mood.

Ingredients:

2 cups fruit (your choice)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/4 cups self rising flour

Note: If you have all purpose flour just add 2 tsps baking powder to the mix.

Combine the flour (and baking powder if needed) and condensed milk. The batter will be quite thick.

Fold in the fruit. I used 1/4 cup rhubarb, 1 cup blueberries and 3/4 cup cranberries. Again, even after adding the fruit the batter is still thick.

Spread the batter in a parchment lined 9 X 9" baking pan and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Maybe next time I'll try apple, rhubarb and strawberry!

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Flavoured Sugar Shower Favors

In this post I'm sharing two flavour infused sugar recipes ... lavender and vanilla cinnamon. They are simple to make and add a hint of something extra to your tea. Pair them with some flavoured teas and pop in goodie bags for guests to take home from a bridal or baby shower. Or just treat yourself! You could use flavoured sugar to rim an iced tea glass or you could bake with it. Imagine a lavender sugar shortbread cookie? Hmm...I might have to get on that!

Lavender Sugar:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp edible lavender

2 1/2 tsps water

food colour (optional)

mini zipper bags (I found mine at Michael's craft store)

Using a mortar and pestle grind up the lavender adding a little sugar to help with the process. When it is ground pretty fine mix it with the sugar, cover and store at least 2 weeks so the lavender has time to infuse the sugar. You can sift the lavender out once infused or leave it in. Your sugar is ready to use.

If you choose to make sugar cubes or molds like these bells it is best to sift out the lavender. Mix water (and food colour) into the infused sugar, with just enough for the sugar to hold together when pressed. Using small molds, I used a bell-shaped chocolate mold, firmly press the sugar into each. Let them sit overnight at room temperature to set.

Once set gently turn them over and pop out of the molds. As you can see here I tried some with the lavender left in the sugar and found sifted out looked better.

Place them in mini zipper bags and attach to your chosen tea. Label if you like. I paired these lavender bells with Lemon Ginger tea.

Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar:

1 cup sugar

2 or 3 cinnamon sticks

2-4 tbsps pure vanilla extract

Bury the cinnamon sticks in the sugar, cover and leave to infuse for 2-3 weeks.

After the sugar has had time to absorb the cinnamon scent remove the sticks and add the vanilla.

Stir well to combine the vanilla with the sugar, then spread on a lined cookie sheet to dry, usually 12 hours or so. Then crush the lumps of sugar with a mortar and pestle or you could grind in a coffee grinder or food processor.

This time I left the sugar loose, bagged and tagged it and attached to a Chai Spice tea.

We packaged these teas and sugar with some chocolate kisses and honey spoons for a sweet take-away treat.

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Spiced Rhubarb Strawberry Muffins

We're smack dab in the middle of rhubarb season, and if you want something better than dipping your stalks into sugar try adding rhubarb to your muffins.

Ingredients:

Streusel:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

5 tbsps butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp cinnamon

Muffins:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 cup mashed banana

1 cup milk

2 tsps lemon juice

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla

1 cup rhubarb, cut in 1/4 - 1/2" slices

1 cup diced or sliced strawberries

Glaze:

1 cup icing sugar

1-2 tbsps milk

First, combine the streusel ingredients and set aside.

For the muffin batter, stir 2 tsps lemon juice into 1 cup milk. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and allspice together. In another bowl, whisk the milk/lemon juice, banana, eggs, vanilla and oil together, then add it to the dry ingredients. Fold in the fruit.

Using a medium size ice cream scoop, add batter to paper lined muffin tins. Top with a heaping tablespoon full of streusel.

Add another scoop of batter and another spoonful of streusel. The tins will be quite full and you may want to brush away some of the loose streusel from the top of the tin.

Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan about 10 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely. Mix the glaze ingredients together and drizzle on top.

Makes 15 medium sized muffins, but dipping your rhubarb stalks in sugar is still a good sweet, tart treat!

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