Chocolate Chip Cookies

In high school after our hockey games I would bring these cookies for our team, we never won a game & really were the worst team you can possibly imagine. D always came back for more cookies, he kept eating them, I kept baking them and eventually kept him too.

Now I'm not saying these cookies will get you a husband, but...

This recipe is really my go to for any event - from stress baking to potlucks to surprise company, nothing is as sweet & welcoming as homemade cookies. They are like the little black dress of desserts if you will; a classic & a guaranteed win.

The recipe is simple, and here it is:
3/4 C Sugar
3/4 C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1-1/2 TSP Vanilla
1 C Butter Flavored Crisco (you can use butter instead)

2-1/4 C Flour
1/2 TSP Salt
1 TSP Baking Soda
1 C Ground Oats - Regular or Quick Oats

2 C Chocolate Chips

Ah the goods. Preheat the oven to 375.

Put the sugars, vanilla, eggs & Crisco into a bowl.

Mix.

Put the oats in a blender and crush them. They should look like this. The ground up oats are what keep these cookies from being flat, this is my "secret" ingredient (if you can call it that).

Now mix the flour, salt, baking soda & ground up oats.

Some people use a separate bowl for the wet & dry ingredients, I need less dishes in my life so I don't do that noise. 

Mix all the ingredients together.

Add the chocolate chips. 

Mix it all up and drop globs of cookie dough onto your baking sheets (I use air bake sheets), don't roll the cookies, it's a waste of your precious youth.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they look like this:

They should look a little gooshy in the middle. Let them sit on the pan for about ten minutes before moving them to a serving platter.

Here they are!

Happy baking (& eating too!)
~D&H

Bringing back the casserole!

To help prepare for our new addition, I wanted to create a few dishes that I could freeze & bake later. A great casserole seemed like the way to go. Now we've all had our bad experiences with casseroles, believe me I've been there, the last one I had was in the 90s and involved tuna (ew!), but this is not that kind of casserole.

I also had a few random items in my cabinets & fridge that I wanted to get rid of, like leftover blah salsa from a party. So this dish is the result of that - kitchen cleaning & nesting.

The first recipe today is for the Sopa de Arroz, or Mexican rice. This is how I make it and on the scale of authentic, it's not. It's just easy and good. The next recipe is for enchilada sauce made from salsa that I wanted to get rid of, turned out delicious! The last recipe is for the actual casserole. Casseroles are forgiving like soup so just take out the ingredients that you, your spouse or kiddos don't like and add ones they do. Okay, here we go!

For the rice:
2 C of white rice
2 TBSP Caldo de Tomate (think of it as tomato boullion)
2 TBSP Olive Oil
~4 C of water

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the rice, stir the rice to coat with oil.

Brown the rice. BTW, you can't skip this part.

Add the water and tomato flavoring and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, give it a good stir, cover it, reduce heat to low and let it cook ~20 minutes. Confident cooks will just leave it the entire time....I'll typically check the rice once and give it a stir to make sure there is enough water because dry rice is nasty. I typically use about half a cup more of water per serving than the rice package says to.

Done.

Now for the enchilada
sauce:
Salsa
1 TSP ground cumin
1 TSP Paprika
1 TSP Cayenne Pepper
2 TSP Chicken boullion
Water

Dump equal parts water and salsa into a saucepan on medium low heat. I used two cups (ish) of each.  Add all the spices. 

Use a whisk to mix. Allow the mix to come to a gentle boil. Stop and smell your kitchen, inhale...exhale. Ahhhh.

Okay, that is done. 

For the casserole:

10-12 tortillas

1 can of beans (any kind) 

1 can of corn 

1 can of olives 

3 cups mozzarella cheese 

Mexican rice

Enchilada sauce 

Heat the oven to 375.

I used a round (12 inch?) dish for my casserole. Start with 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish. Place three tortillas around the bottom of the dish for structural integrity and sprinkle about a cup of the rice on top.

Now add about half of each of the remaining ingredients and cover with cheese.

Pour a cup of the enchilada sauce on top. Place three more tortillas in the pan and repeat the previous steps. I only did two fat layers on mine since my pan isn't that deep. For the top layer layer three tortillas around the top of the casserole and add about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. 

Cover with foil, place on a cookie sheet (so nothing spills over into the bottom of your oven!). 

Bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

Cut a huge slice & top with sour cream. Enjoy! 

The casserole is back guys! 

Happy cooking! 

~D & H

Persimmon Cookies

D came home with  persimmons from a job and with my sister visiting from Oregon and an invite to see presentations by some of my former students, I thought it was a great time to put the persimmons to use.  

I found YouTube videos which talked about how to prep the persimmons and after browsing through a few cookie recipes, I went for it.  

Here is what you will need for the cookies:
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg 
puree of 2-3 persimmons
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup oatmeal, ground in blender 

Here is what you will need for the frosting:
1/3 stick of butter
1/4 cube of cream cheese 
1/2 tsp vanilla 
2 tbsp milk or half & half
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Prepping the persimmons:

According to my YouTube education these are fuyu (pronounced foo-you) persimmons, also called Japanese persimmons, and are in season between October and February.

After I rinsed the persimmons I turned them upside down and cut them in half, but not all the way through, then turned them right side up and tore off the flowery top - sounds mean but it has to be done. 

One of the persimmons was so ripe that I just used a spoon to scoop out the inside, but the rest of them I cut into slices then removed the inside from the peel.  

Also, I ate some persimmon chunks because...yum.  

I blended the persimmon chunks until they were about the consistency of apricot jam, that fuyu goo is like sweet, mushy gold I tell ya.  

Next I preheated the oven to 350 and then mixed the butter and sugars. 

Then I added the baking soda to the persimmon puree and let it sit while I mixed the dry ingredients.  

This stepped turned the puree into a jello like substance.  

Then I added the egg and puree to the butter and sugar mix, looks a little gross. 

Since this was my first time making this recipe I didn't add any spices to the dry ingredients so I could incrementally add them at the end. So at this point I added the flour and salt mix to the egg and puree goo.  

After a little taste of the batter I decided to add the spices - I went light (relative to the recipe posted here) on the ginger and cinnamon and a little heavier on the cloves.

This is what the batter looked like for me and also when I decided to add the ground up oatmeal (bass) to the cookies to make sure they were thick.  

That ground up oatmeal packs a big punch.  

I dropped the cookies onto the baking sheets and ended up with about two dozen.

My oven is a little odd so I baked the tray of cookies on the top rack for 10 minutes and the tray on the bottom for 11 minutes.  

While they were cooling I tossed the butter and cream cheese in a bowl and microwaved it until it was soft.  Then I mixed it along with the vanilla and milk until it was smooth, lastly I incrementally added the powdered sugar until the texture was no longer runny.

Here they are, yeah I ate one!  

I was a little nervous to have my sister be the first taste tester (she used to be a sweets baker so her standards are high!) but I brewed some coffee, woke her up and we got to sip on some beans and enjoy some warm cookies for breakfast together.  The first thing she said about the cookies was "they taste like Christmas", yay tastes like victory to me!  

After breakfast I went to campus with the rest of the batch of cookies to watch the presentations, my heart was so full of pride and joy watching the students.  After the presentations I got to quickly catch up with them and share the cookies, they all seemed to love them (probably can't trust the taste of starving college students) but it sure was amazing to see all of them!  

Today I made another batch of cookies to give to some of our neighbors for Christmas. 

A few notes: 
- Most of the recipes I saw added nuts, raisins and other unholiness to the cookies.  No.Thank.You.
- The recipes showed pretty flat cookies, but I'm all about that bass so I tweaked the recipe to make mine big and puffy, my "secret" (if you can call it that) is to add oatmeal that has been blended in the blender, it gives the cookies a quality that people can't quite put their finger on. 
- I added a cream cheese frosting glaze to these, again if that isn't your thing, just leave it out.
- A few of the recipes I saw sprinkled powdered sugar on top instead of doing a frosting glaze.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have had my sister here visiting for the week, students to be proud of and neighbors to bake for, this has always been my favorite part of the year, and this year, I am overjoyed that I get to spend it with so many wonderful people. 

I hope you all are enjoying this season, especially the moments spent with the ones you love the most! 
Merry Christmas!
~D & H

Sweet Sweet Chili

Football season at our house can get kind of tense - my hometown team is the Seattle Seahawks and D's bay area roots keep him faithful to their division rival - the 49ers.  Yeah, like I said, it can get kind of tense.  The light at the end of this rivalry tunnel is our agreement on football food - especially this versatile chili which is a staple at our house for the entire season.  

Originally I made up this recipe because I had Thanksgiving turkey coming out of my ears, over the years it evolved into this simple, sweet & hearty chili.  

FYI all of the ingredients can be thrown into a crockpot and the chili can be made that way, I am going to show the stovetop version which usually takes me about half an hour to make.

Here is what you will need:

1 lb ground beef 

1 lb sausage

1 white or yellow onion (I like yellow)

1 cup (ish) ketchup

1 cup (ish) BBQ sauce (I love Sweet Baby Ray's but just choose your favorite!)

1 can sweet green chilis

1 large can of kidney beans (drained)

3 cans of chili (pinto) beans (not drained)

chopped garlic

salt 

pepper

Tapatio 

Chop the onion and add the meats, onion and garlic to a 6 qt pot and cook. 

As you are cooking the meat smash it into small pieces.

Shameless plug: I love this angled Kitchen Aid spatula/smasher thingy, perfect for getting the meat into dip chip sized chunks! 

Next, add the beans and chilis. 

Now it is time to add the ketchup, Tapatio and BBQ sauce. 

This is always where I just keep adding BBQ sauce.  Just a little more.  Eh maybe a just a touch more.  Okay, one more blob more...

Then it is time for a taste to see how much salt and pepper I should add, also this is when I typically throw in a few more glugs of Tapatio to give it just a little more kick. 

Done and done. 

Typically I serve this with sour cream (or cream cheese) and avocado with cornbread or Fritos.  

A few variations of the recipe:

-My "garden use" variation:  I picked some bell peppers and green tomatoes from our garden, chopped them up and cooked them in a little olive oil, then I added the meat, onion and garlic to that veggie mix and started the recipe from there. Rating: Good  

-My Thanksgiving leftovers/clean out the fridge variation: Chopped up turkey meat instead of ground beef .  Rating: Good 

-My "let's try a healthier version" variation: Ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Rating: Bad.  (The ground turkey is dry...no thanks!)

Hope you all are enjoying this football season and give the recipe a try at your next gathering, we'd love to hear your variations on it!  

We are so thankful for the (much needed) rain and the time we get to spend enjoying football games, good food and even better friends!  

~D & H 

Smashed Potatoes

This mashed potato recipe stemmed from me realizing at the green age of 16 that if I was cooking the potatoes, they should taste exactly how I dream they should.  And yes, I dream about potatoes, but only around the holidays. Unfortunately for my guinea pig siblings and hubs, the recipe wasn't just there, it took me a while to get it right.

So here they are, my dreamy and buttery potatoes, just in time for Thanksgiving. Now just to warn you, these potatoes aren't healthy, so if you're on paleo (I'm sorry!), maybe come back to the blog in January and we can chat about fauxtatoes (made from cauliflower, actually really good!) but here at D & H for the holidays, we don't like to worry about all that.  

Here is what you need to make about 6 cups of mashed potatoes:
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon 
1 tablespoon chopped garlic 
6 peeled potatoes (I just got the cheap-o ones from Costco)
1 stick of butter
8oz cream cheese 
salt to taste

Fill a 6 quart pot about 1/3 full of water, add the garlic and bouillon and crank up the stove heat to high.

Chop the potatoes. 

Dump the potatoes into the pot of seasoned water. 

Oh, you know what, I threw some thyme into the pot to make sure that the growings of our garden were put to good use.  (Side story: D and I installed a drip system into one of the raised garden beds in our backyard.  Fabulous idea, worked out beautifully except I planted vegetables that neither of us really like to eat and I don't always cook with (doi right?), not the desired outcome of a DIY project, let me tell ya!  So anytime I can use things from the garden, it is a happy day here!)

Bring the water to a boil and let the potatoes cook in the boiling water until you poke them and they fall apart (like me every thirty days or so), the potatoes should cook in about 20 minutes.

Drain the water.  Chop the cream cheese and butter into chunks and add it to the potatoes. Did I mention that this isn't a healthy recipe?   

I then used a whisk to mix in/melt the cheese and butter and to smash the potatoes, you can also you an electric mixer for this, I needed to work on my triceps anyway, so I went the elbow grease route.  I also added about a teaspoon of salt to the potatoes as I was mixing them. 

Voila. I turned into Forrest Gump for a minute before this post, "I ate some". 

A few notes: 

1) I am a potato purist.  I don't want crunchy, herb-y or any unidentifiable objects in my potatoes, I want them smooth, flavorful and fluffy.  Often flavorful and smooth don't mix but if you use the boiling water as the method for seasoning the potatoes, I think you get the best of both worlds.  So you like rosemary but don't want to feel like you are eating pine needles? Throw the rosemary in the water as the potatoes cook, pull it out when you are done cooking them, BAM ZOOM, good to go!  My non-negotiable item in this recipe is using chicken bouillon, it gives the potatoes flavor that is noticeable but not overpowering.  

2)The gorgeous cutting board shown above was actually scrap granite from a job D was working on, he sanded the rough edges and we stuck some felt pads to the bottom of it.  I leave it on the counter all the time, so useful having a cutting board at the ready and it protects the maple countertop!  I'm so glad he keeps his eyes out for cool "scraps" like that!

Well I hope you all have a fabulous week and are having as much fun planning Thanksgiving and enjoying this wonderful snuggle weather as much as we are!   

All the best, 

D & H