thick and chewy oatmeal cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you're impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Brussels Sprouts Chips

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed and spun dry
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking pan with a piece of aluminum foil, if desired. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Trim stem end of Brussels sprouts high enough to loosen most of the leaves. Remove and discard yellow or damaged leaves. Separate as many leaves as will pull away from the center easily. Halve the remaining sprout centers. Place loose leaves and sprout halves in a large mixing bowl.
3. Drizzle olive oil over Brussels sprouts; sprinkle coarse salt and pepper over. Toss to coat evenly and spread leaves in a single layer on baking sheet.


4. Place baking sheet in 425 degree F oven and let roast for 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven. Pick out leaves that are dark and crispy and place in a serving bowl. Use a spatula to flip the remaining leaves and sprout halves. Return to oven.

5. Repeat this process until the majority of the leaves have been crisped. The halved sprouts remaining on the baking sheet should be browned and fork-tender. Place them in the serving bowl along with the leaves and serve hot or at room temperature.

Bean Soup With Kale

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
• 8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cups chopped raw kale
• 4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or navy, undrained
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; saute until soft. Add kale and saute, stirring, until wilted. Add 3 cups of broth, 2 cups of beans, and all of the tomato, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. In a blender or food processor, mix the remaining beans and broth until smooth. Stir into soup to thicken. Simmer 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chopped parsley.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/bean-soup-with-kale/Detail.aspx

Sweet, Summer Roasted Vegetables Print Recipe

 
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup zucchini, diced
1/3 cup frozen corn kernals
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

Toss all to combine & roast at 400 for 15-20 mins.

Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/side-dishes/sweet-summer-roasted-vegetables.html#ixzz1EuPgVpbI

THE BEST Chocolate Cake EVER :D [print_link]

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 package Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a VERY large bowl (4 qt), mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two 9-inch pie pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the devil's food cake box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it's not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. :) It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch pie pans.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup shortening (crisco)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar and continue creaming until well blended. Add salt, vanilla, and whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/the-best-chocolate-cake.html#ixzz1EuPDah35

apricot pork roast

• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
• 1 (18 ounce) jar apricot preserves
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 lbs boneless pork loin roast

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 1/2 day

1. 1 Mix broth, preserves, onion and mustard in slow cooker.
2. 2 Add pork and turn to coat.
3. 3 Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours or until done.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/delicious-apricot-glazed-pork-roast-crock-pot-85452#ixzz1DRSsuq4p

kalbi jjim via maangchi

Korean recipes:

Beef short ribs (galbijjim)

• Beef short ribs / 갈비찜 / Galbi jjim (or galbi jim, kalbi jim, kalbi jjim)
• Wikipedia entry for this recipe
• Music: 'Festival 2' by Kim Soo Chul
• Watch on YouTube (69,303 views) | Watch on Vimeo | Download podcast | go to iTunes
• Categories: beef, main dish, non spicy, sidedishes
• Originally posted on September 10, 2008 at 9:07 am and published in Cooking Korean Food with Maangchi - Book 2

Galbi jjim is one of the most popular Korean dishes. It's made with beef short ribs and is often prepared for special occasions.

Ingredients:
2 lbs (about 1 kg) of beef short ribs, water, cooking wine, soy sauce, black pepper, brown sugar, garlic, green onion, onion, sesame oil, carrots, radish, shiitake mushrooms, and mulyeot (corn syrup).

1. Soak 5 shiitake mushrooms in warm water for about 4-6 hours.
2. Soak short ribs in cold water in a large bowl for at least 30 minutes and change the water a few times.
3. Boil water in a large pot. Put in the short ribs. Boil for 5-10 minutes.
4. Take out the ribs from the boiling water and wash them with cold water to remove unnecessary fat or floating bubbles.
   



5. Throw away the boiling water and clean the pot.
6. Place the clean  beef short ribs in the pot.
7. Prepare a bowl to make seasoned water by mixing  2 cups of water, 4 tbs soy sauce, 8 cloves of minced garlic), ½ sliced onion, 1 tbs rice wine, and 1 tbs brown sugar.
   
   Add it to the short ribs in the pot.



8. Boil it over medium heat for 20 minutes.
9. While it boils, you can prepare the other ingredients:
   
   • Cut carrot and radish into 5 cm-size cubes and round the edges to make several balls (the size of the balls should be like ping pong balls )
   • Cut the soaked shiitake mushrooms into bite size.
     *tip: You can add several skinned chestnuts and gingko nuts



10. Open the lid of the pot and add all ingredients (carrot, radish, shiitake mushrooms) to the pot. Let it simmer for about 1 hour over low heat.
    *tip: Stir the ribs and other ingredients with a wooden spoon from time to time. Pour the liquid from the bottom of the pot over top of the meat
11. Open the lid and check if the meat is cooked fully. Use your chopstick to poke the meat. When it is smoothly going through the meat, the meat is tender enough.
12. Add 2 tbs of moolyeot (corn syrup), 1 tbs sesame oil, ½ ts black pepper, and heat it up over high heat. Mix it well until liquid evaporates
13. Transfer galbijjim to a platter before serving.

zucchini jeon

Main Ingredients

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Egg
• 1 Medium Size Zucchini
• ½ Onion
• 1 Red Hot Pepper
• ½ tsp Salt

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• 1½ Tbps Soy Sauce
• ½ tsp Brown Rice Vinegar or Apple Vinegar

Directions

 

Julienne a zucchini, chop ½ onion very finely, and slice 1 hot red pepper thinly.

 

In a bowl, combine 1 cup of water, 1 cup of flour, 1 egg, and ½ tsp of salt. Mix everything together.

 

Add the vegetables into the batter.

 

Mix all of the ingredients together.

 

In a slightly oiled pan, pour 1 large spoonful of the batter and spread it to make a round shape.

 

Fry them until they become golden brown.

 

crab jeon

Main Ingredients

• 4 Korean Crabsticks (1 Cup Chopped)
• 3 Eggs
• ⅓ Onion (⅓ Cup Chopped)
• 1 Green Onion
• 1 Tbsp Carrot
• 1 or 2 Hot Peppers
• 6 Tbsp Flour
• ¼ Tsp Salt

Directions

 

Chop 4 Korean crabsticks (1 cup), ⅓ of an onion (⅓ cup), 1 Green Onion, 1 Tbsp of carrot, and 1 or 2 Hot Peppers finely. If you do not like hot peppers, you can use sweet peppers instead.

 

Break and then beat 3 eggs.

 

Add the chopped vegetables and crabsticks to the egg and then mix everything together.

 

Add 6 Tbsp of flour to the mixture. I mixed all-purpose flour, Korean pancake mix (Jeon flour), and frying mix to get better texture. If you do not have them, it is okay to just use normal flour.

 

Add ¼ tsp of salt and mix again.

 

When you scoop the batter, it should not run off the spoon. Get a spoonful of batter.

 

In a oiled pan, put a spoonful of batter and make the shape round. Plenty of oil gives better flavor. Fry them on medium with patience.

 

When the bottom of the jeon becomes golden brown, flip it over. When the other side of jeon becomes golden brown as in the picture, it is done.

 

potato jorim

Main Ingredients

• 3 Medium Sized Potatoes (2 Cups)
• ½ Cup Water
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• 2½ Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Corn Syrup
• 1-1½ Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• ⅛ tsp Fine Sea Salt
• ½ tsp Sesame Seeds

Directions

 

Cut 3 medium sized potatoes (2 cups) into ½-inch cubes.

 

In a heated pan, with 2 Tbsp of oil, add the chopped potatoes.

 

Fry the potatoes for 5 minutes on medium-high until they are about ⅓ cooked.

 

After 5 minutes, add ½ cup of water, 2½ Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of corn syrup, 1-1½ Tbsp of sugar, and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic.

 

Cook it for 5 more minutes on medium-high.

 

Taste it and if you need to, add up to ⅛ tsp of fine sea salt depending on your tastes.

 

Cook until the liquid is reduced to a paste, which should take about 5 minutes.

 

Reduce the temperature to medium and fry 5 to 7 more minutes until the potatoes are completely cooked. Then add ½ tsp of sesame seeds.

 

It is done.