10-20-2012 at 1:29 PM

<b>Really good mashed sweet potato recipe</b><br /> <br /> <b>Ingredients</b><br /> - A couple good-sized sweet potatoes, I think I had 5 of them<br /> - 1/4 tsp salt<br /> - 2 tbsp butter<br /> - 2 tbsp maple syrup<br /> - Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste<br /> - 3 to 4 tbsp half-and-half or milk<br /> <br /> <b>Directions:</b><br /> - Bring sweet potatoes to a boil in a pot and boil them until soft, strain out water and then peel when they're done. You can do this easily with a fork. (I strongly suggest you wait a bit for them to cool down because they will be VERY HOT)<br /> - Mash them up with the rest of the ingredients and you can add more or less tbsp of milk if you like.

10-19-2012 at 9:51 AM

<b>I do not own this recipe, this belongs to Cooks Illustrated, which is the bible of cooking in my opinion. </b>Basically I've made so many of their recipes that I now no longer worry if it'll taste good or if it'll turn out. It does. So I assume the same of this one. :3<br /> <br /> CLASSIC CHICKEN AND HERBED DUMPLINGS WITH AROMATIC VEGETABLES<br /> <br /> WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:<br /> Most chicken and dumplings recipes include flour, salt, and one or more of the following: butter, eggs, milk, and baking powder. We came upon one, however, that was unusual for its mixing method. It called for cutting butter into flour, baking powder, and salt but then, instead of just dumping cold milk right in, it called for heated milk. Suddenly we had our ideal dumpling—light and fluffy, yet durable enough to hold together during cooking. As for the rest of the chicken and dumplings recipe, we decided on a whole cut-up chicken rather than boneless breasts; the breasts may be a little easier to work with, but they don't provide as much flavor as a complete mix of white and dark bone-in meat. Next were the vegetables. Steaming them separately for 10 minutes worked well; we then just added them to the pot when the dish was about finished to heat them through (and keep them from overcooking).<br /> <br /> SERVES 6 TO 8<br /> A touch of heavy cream gives the dish a more refined look and rich flavor, but for a weeknight dinner, you may want to omit it. If you are in a hurry, you may poach boneless chicken breasts in low-sodium canned stock, then pull the breast into large pieces, and skip step 1 below.<br /> INGREDIENTS<br /> Poached Chicken with Creamed Gravy and Aromatic Vegetables <br /> 1 large roasting chicken, 6 to 7 pounds, butchered<br /> 1 large onion cut into large chunks (unpeeled)<br /> 2 bay leaves<br /> Table salt<br /> 3ribs celery, trimmed and cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces<br /> 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces<br /> 6 boiling onions, peeled and halved<br /> 4tablespoons unsalted butter softened, or chicken fat from the cooked chicken<br /> 6tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour<br /> 1teaspoon dried thyme<br /> 2tablespoons dry sherry or vermouth<br /> 1/4cup heavy cream (optional)<br /> 3/4cup frozen peas, thawed<br /> 1/4cup minced fresh parsley leaves<br /> Ground black pepper or ground white pepper<br /> Baking Powder Dumplings <br /> 2cups unbleached all-purpose flour<br /> 1tablespoon baking powder<br /> 3/4teaspoon table salt<br /> 1/4cup minced fresh parsley leaves, chives (or scallion greens), dill, and tarragon<br /> 3tablespoons unsalted butter<br /> 1cup milk<br /> INSTRUCTIONS<br /> 1. For the Chicken: Heat deep 11- or 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add hacked-up chicken back, neck, and wings, and onion chunks; sauté until onion softens and chicken loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and continue to cook until chicken pieces give up most of their liquid, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add 6 cups hot water, chicken parts (legs, thighs, and breasts), bay leaves, and 3/4 teaspoon salt, then bring to simmer. Reduce heat; continue to simmer, partially covered, until broth is flavorful and chicken parts are just cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. Remove chicken parts and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones in 2- to 3-inch chunks. Strain broth, discarding chicken pieces. Skim and reserve fat from broth and set aside 4 cups of broth, reserving extra for another use.<br /> 2. Meanwhile, bring 1/2-inch water to simmer in cleaned skillet fitted with steamer basket. Add vegetables; cover and steam until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.<br /> 3. For the Dumplings: Mix flour, baking powder, herbs, and salt in medium bowl. Heat butter and milk to simmer and add to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork or knead by hand two to three times until mixture just comes together. Following ****s below, form dough into desired shape; set aside.<br /> 4. Heat butter or reserved chicken fat in cleaned skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and thyme; cook, whisking constantly, until flour turns golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Continuing to whisk constantly, gradually add sherry or vermouth, then reserved 4 cups chicken stock; simmer until gravy thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in optional cream and chicken and vegetables; return to simmer.<br /> 5. Lay formed dumplings on surface of chicken mixture; cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 10 minutes for strip dumplings and 15 minutes for balls and biscuit rounds. Gently stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings, including generous amounts of salt and pepper. Ladle portion of meat, sauce, vegetables, and dumplings into soup plates and serve immediately.<br /> <br /> <br /> *****<br /> For biscuit-like dumplings, roll dough to 1/2-inch thick. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter or a round drinking glass top to cut dough rounds.<br /> <br /> For round puffy dumplings, divide dough into 18 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rough round.<br /> <br /> For flat noodle-like dumplings, roll dough to 1/8-inch and cut them into about 2-by-1/2-inch strips.<br />

10-17-2012 at 5:24 PM

<b><u>Really good oil + vinegar dressing</u></b><br /> <br /> <b>Ingredients:</b><br /> - 1/2 cup vinegar (I like to do 1/4 one kind, 1/4 another.. like balsamic and white.. but whatever you want)<br /> - 1 cup olive oil<br /> - 1 tsp white sugar<br /> - 1/2 tsp onion powder<br /> - 1/2 tsp garlic powder<br /> - 1/2 tsp dried parsley<br /> - 1/8 tsp celery seed<br /> - 1/8 tsp salt<br /> - 1/8 tsp ground black pepper<br /> <br /> <b>Directions:</b><br /> Mix it up together and put on salad.

10-11-2012 at 9:29 PM

I love this recipe, I got it from a Milk Calendar :)<br /> <br /> <b><u>Chicken Fajitas with Fresh Salsa</u></b><br /> <br /> <b>Ingredients:</b><br /> - 2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, diced<br /> - 1/2 sweet red pepper, diced<br /> - 1/2 avocado, diced (optional)<br /> - 1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced<br /> - 1/2 cup (125 ml) shredded Canadian Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese<br /> - 2 tbsp (30 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice<br /> - Salt<br /> - 1 tbsp (15 ml) butter<br /> - 1 medium onion, sliced<br /> - 1 lb (500 g) boneless skinless chicken, cut in thin strips<br /> - 2 tbsp (15 ml) chili powder<br /> - 1 tbsp (15 ml) minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (optional)<br /> - 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) dried oregano<br /> - 3 tbsp (45 ml) all-purpose flour<br /> - 1 cup (250 ml) milk<br /> - 4 to 6 large whole wheat flour tortillas, warmed<br /> - Torn lettuce leaves <br /> <br /> <b>Directions:</b><br /> - In a bowl, combine tomato, red pepper, avocado, jalapeño, cheese, lime juice and a 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) salt; set aside.<br /> - In large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat; sauté onion for 3 min or until softened and starting to brown. Add chicken, chili powder, chipotle, oregano and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt; sauté for 5 min until chicken is no longer pink inside.<br /> - Whisk flour into milk until smooth; gradually stir into skillet. Simmer, stirring, for 3 min or until bubbling and thickened. Line tortillas with lettuce and spoon filling on top along centre; top with fresh salsa. Fold up bottom of tortilla then fold sides to enclose filling.

09-14-2012 at 6:22 PM

Alright, for those who want it, this is not my recipe, but in fact belongs to "Cook's Illustrated", who I pretty much adore.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://imageshack.us/a/img802/9637/screenshot20120914at814.png">Part One</a><br /> <a href="http://imageshack.us/a/img152/9637/screenshot20120914at814.png">Part Two</a><br /> <br /> I'm too lazy to type it up.<br /> <br /> ***IF you're not the legal age to buy alcohol in your country, you're going to have to ignore this recipe or have your parents make it.***<br /> <br /> ***IF you don't have a food processor - or a big food processor for this one - then you can stil do it by hand. The biggest key to this is <b>do not overmix</b>. This is how a crust ends up tough and dry.***

08-7-2012 at 5:35 PM

<b>Peanut Butter Cookies</b><br /> <br /> 2 cups flour<br /> 1/2 tsp baking soda<br /> 1/4 tsp salt<br /> 1 1/4 cup brown suger, firmly packed<br /> 1 1/4 cup white sugar<br /> 1 cup butter, softened<br /> 3 large eggs<br /> 1 cup creamy peanut butter<br /> 2 tsp vanilla<br /> <br /> <i>Extra peanut butter may be added per desire for a more chewy cookie. I personally add 1/4 cup extra flour to allow the cookies to maintain their shape.</i><br /> <br /> Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, blend sugars using an electric mixer. Add butter to form a grainy paste. Add eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla. Best mixed at m edium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture and mix at low speed until mixed.<br /> <br /> Place the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. With a wet fork, after you have completed all of the above steps, gently press a criss-cross pattern on top of each cookie. You can also use sugar rather than water. Bake twelve to fourteen minutes for a chewy cookie, longer if you prefer your cookies well-done. Transfer <u>immediately</u> to a cool surface or the bottom of your cookie will burn.<br /> <br /> When I'm short on time or don't feel like washing a lot, I mix everything in a single bowl. However, I find it tastes better when done the way it is written but that may just be my mind tricking me into doing more work.

08-6-2012 at 11:42 PM

The sounds of that recipe make me hungry Matthew. I've never made Shepherds Pie due to lack of lamb where I come from...but perhaps I could try the beef version. :3

08-6-2012 at 10:51 PM

<b>Shepherd's Pie</b><br /> <br /> 1 lb lean lamb, minced<br /> 1 large onion, sliced<br /> 1 medium carrot, chopped<br /> 1 stick celery, chopped<br /> enough beef stock to cover<br /> salt<br /> pepper<br /> 3 to 4 tsp corn starch or 2 Bisto (if you know what it is) and 1 corn starch<br /> 2 lbs good mashing potatoes<br /> 4 oz butter<br /> salt<br /> pepper<br /> <br /> Note that you can substitute the lamb for a pound and a half of beef but it would be considered cottage pie. <br /> <br /> Add minced lamb into a casserole dish, add onion, carrot, celery, beef stock, corn starch and/Bisto/corn starch, salt and pepper, to taste, and stir. Cook in a slow oven, say 275°F for 2 hours.<br /> <br /> When complete, drain off gravy and reserve. Boil and mash potatoes with milk, butter, salt and pepper, however do not make it into a wet paste. It should be firm and almost chunky.<br /> <br /> Add back enough gravy to the meat to make it moist. Gently add the potato to the top and build up. Spread with a fork, finally making fork marks both up and down and across to form a basket like pattern.<br /> <br /> Put oven temperature at 400°F, then bake until potato is crispy and golden on the peaks (about) 30 minutes.<br /> <br /> Serve with remaining gravy and steamed cabbage if desired. <br /> <br />

08-6-2012 at 5:07 PM

For Ehm and Clay, who asked for this:<br /> <br /> Pork Lo Mein (my adaption of a Cooks Illustrated Recipe)<br /> <br /> <br /> 6 tablespoons soy sauce<br /> 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce <br /> 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil<br /> 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder<br /> 1 pkg Boneless Pork chops, fat removed, cut into 1/8 slices. (This originally calls for boneless, country style ribs, these are super fatty which I don't eat, I go for the boneless pork chops.)<br /> 4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press <br /> 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (optional, I don't add this, I hate ginger)<br /> 4 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil or olive oil.<br /> 4 tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine (Shao-Xing) or dry sherry (Cooking sherry is cheapest! I use this!)<br /> 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and sliced. (Although, I'm on a budget, I use baby bellas, sliced very thinly.)<br /> 2 bunches scallions (Green Onions), whites thinly sliced and greens cut into 1-inch pieces <br /> 2 smallish heads or 1 really big head of Bok Choy, sliced. Or more, I like more.<br /> 10 ounces Lo Mein Noodles or 8 ounces dried linguine (Depends on what you can get<br /> 1 tablespoon Asian chile garlic sauce (This will make it SPICY if you get the right kind, so if you don't like spicy at all, leave it out, if you do, add in 1/2 teaspoon batches if you can't handle a lot of heat.)<br /> <br /> INSTRUCTIONS<br /> Whisk soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and five-spice powder together in bowl. Place soy sauce mixture in large zipper-lock bag; add pork. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. (OR more, more is fine. I do more.) In separate small bowl, mix garlic and ginger with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil; set aside.<br /> <br /> Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. (Or you know, a wok, I own one of those.) Add half of pork in single layer, breaking up clumps with wooden spoon. Cook, without stirring, 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons wine/sherry to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is reduced and pork is well coated, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer pork to medium bowl and repeat with remaining pork, 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining 2 tablespoons wine. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.<br /> <br /> Return skillet to high heat, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, and heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add scallions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes longer; transfer vegetables to bowl with pork.<br /> <br /> Add remaining teaspoon vegetable oil and cabbage to now-empty skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Clear center of skillet; add garlic-ginger mixture and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir garlic mixture into cabbage; return pork-vegetable mixture; simmer until all ingredients are well incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.<br /> <br /> While cabbage is cooking, stir noodles into boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender. Drain noodles and transfer to cabbage pork mixture if cooking in large wok or if a small skillet, combine into noodles into bowl or dutch oven. Make sure noodles are well coated, serve.<br /> <br /> If you make this spicy, I suggest a good strong white wine with it. Mostly because I make this for special occasions and therefore, alcohol is involved. <br />

07-29-2012 at 10:52 PM

Glad you liked it, Goose. =3<br /> <br /> Clayton, I have no doubt about that. I've only made it with peanut butter though, since the dog I make it for likes it best. ^.^"

07-27-2012 at 6:24 PM

Fantastic, thanks!! :D<br /> <br /> ShiNya, I bet you could mix in beef stock or different stocks for a variety of flavoured dog treats :O

07-27-2012 at 3:17 PM

Plain old pot on the stove Clay. Although my mom has kept it for hours in a crock pot for work things - she has a lot of vegetarian coworkers, so she loves to use this recipe for potlucks at work.<br /> <br /> I suspect you could use a crockpot and let it sit all day.<br /> <br /> ====<br /> <br /> Gopher, I love the dog recipe. :3

07-27-2012 at 3:39 AM

Hey ZJ, you didn't specify.. what do you cook that in? plain ol' pot on the stove? crock-pot?

07-26-2012 at 11:40 PM

There doesn't seem to be anything saying the recipes have to be for people, so here's one for dogs. Humans can eat them too, but fair warning, they are very bland. <br /> <br /> *- Allergy Warning -*<br /> Contains: wheat, dairy, and peanuts<br /> <br /> Peanut Butter Dog Treats<br /> <br /> 2 cups whole wheat flour<br /> 1 cup creamy peanut butter<br /> 1 cup milk<br /> 1 teaspoon baking powder<br /> <br /> - Preheat oven to 375F.<br /> - Mix all ingredients well.<br /> - Dough should stick together, but still crumble with relative ease.<br /> - Roll out dough and cut into any shape you would like. This is a good opportunity to use cookie cutters, though I make them bite-size (in relation to a GSD).<br /> - Using a spatula, place treats on an ungreased cookie sheet.<br /> - Bake for 20-25 minutes or until slightly golden on top and at desired firmness*. Cookies will not spread out during baking.<br /> <br /> * 20-ish minutes produces typical cookie softness. For crunchier treats, bake for a few minutes longer. Keep an eye on it so as not to burn them.

07-20-2012 at 5:05 PM

For Ehm (and anyone else)<br /> <br /> Barley Vegetable Soup<br /> (This is vegetarian)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2 quarts vegetable broth, low sodium<br /> 1 cup uncooked barley<br /> 4 large carrots, chopped <br /> 2 stalks celery, chopped<br /> 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice<br /> 1 zucchini, chopped<br /> 1 yellow squash, chopped<br /> 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained<br /> 1 onion, chopped<br /> 1 clove garlic, minced<br /> 3 bay leaves<br /> 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or 5 peppercorns<br /> 1 teaspoon curry powder (I double this, easily, but I like curry.)<br /> 1 teaspoon paprika<br /> 1 teaspoon Vegan Worcestershire sauce<br /> <br /> Cook the onion, garlic, celery and carrots for a minute or two in a little olive oil. Throw in the spices and stir around for a few extra seconds. Throw in everything else. <br /> <br /> Let cook for 70-90 minutes. Eat. <br /> <br /> To cut down cook time, soak the barley in hot, hot water while you cut up all the veggies.<br /> <br /> This is the vegetarian/vegan version, I also do this with stew meat cut up into small chunks in it and it's just as tasty! Just cook with the onions etc at the beginning.<br /> <br /> Lastly, this is the summer version. I alter veggies based on seasons. Winter will have sweet potatoes and parsnips and turnips.

07-11-2012 at 4:06 PM

Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese<br /> <br /> 6 tablespoons butter (divided)<br /> salt<br /> 1 pound elbow macaroni<br /> 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken<br /> 2 cloves garlic, minced<br /> 3/4 cup hot sauce (divided)<br /> 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour<br /> 2 teaspoons dry mustard<br /> 2 cups milk (I used 2%)<br /> 1/2 cups heavy cream<br /> 1 pound yellow sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3.5 cups)<br /> 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)<br /> 2/3 cup sour cream<br /> 1 cup panko bread crumbs<br /> 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese<br /> 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley<br /> <br /> Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.<br /> Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.<br /> Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.<br /> Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the milk and cream, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.<br /> Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.<br /> Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni and bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.<br />

07-11-2012 at 11:56 AM

<b>Ground Turkey Meatballs</b><br /> Makes about 25 - 35 meatballs (depending on size).<br /> It's best if you mix this up in advance (the night before or early in the morning) and refrigerate it for several hours. You don't have to, but it makes it a bit easier to form the meatballs.<br /> <br /> <b>Ingredients</b><br /> 1 lb ground turkey<br /> 1 c bread crumbs<br /> 1 egg<br /> ½ c grated parmesan<br /> ¾ tsp parsley<br /> ¾ tsp basil<br /> ½ tsp garlic powder<br /> ½ tsp salt<br /> ¼ tsp paprika<br /> 1 c water<br /> <br /> <b>Directions</b><br /> Now, there's no real set way you have to mix up most of this.<br /> However you like, combine all your ingredients, except the water, into a large metal or glass bowl.<br /> Personally, I just dump the turkey in the bowl, dump everything else on top of it, and then mix it up with my hands. If you wanted, you could combine the spices and cheese and breadcrumbs in one bowl, and mix the meat and egg in another, and then add the the former to the latter, but I haven't found a difference between the two, save for an extra bowl to wash (I have my priorities).<br /> <br /> Once you have all your other ingredients mixed up, though, comes the water. This is the bit that takes a while. You need patience, or it just turns into a sloppy mess.<br /> Pour a very small amount of water into your meat mix, and knead it in. It takes a little bit, but it'll absorb! Keep doing that, until you've used all or most of the water*. It will be a little sloppy in the end, but as long as it's not goopy, you should be okay.<br /> <br /> * There may come a point when you don't have much water left, but you don't think your meat mix will be able to take any more while still remaining mostly solid. That's okay. Just stop adding water at that point -- especially if you're going to be cooking the meatballs without refrigerating your mixture first.<br /> <br /> <br /> Now, if you've made this up early, just cover the bowl with saran wrap and toss it in the fridge for however long. The refrigeration will stiffen up the mix, which makes it a lot easier to roll into meatballs.<br /> <br /> If you're like me, though, and don't look up recipes until a couple of hours before you have to make dinner, you'll be moving directly onto the next bit:<br /> <br /> <b>Prep & Cooking</b><br /> You could probably do these just fine with an oven-bake method, but I cook them on the stove:<br /> <br /> <br /> Get out the largest pan you have, unless you're halving the recipe, or don't mind cooking them in batches. If you want to add sauce or cheese over top of them, I suggest using a pan that has a lid.<br /> Put a little bit of oil in your pan, and let it heat up on medium heat.<br /> While it's doing that, you get to form your meatballs -- which is pretty straightforward and doesn't require much explanation.<br /> If you've refrigerated your meat mix, you should be able to form your balls and just pile them right in your bowl as you do so (or toss them in the pan as you finish them).<br /> If you haven't refrigerated your meat mix, though, things are going to be a bit goopier and it won't be so easy.<br /> Probably the best thing to do is to cover a large pan or cutting board with either foil or wax paper, and plop your meatballs on that as you make them.<br /> <br /> Whatever you do, they're gonna end up in your pan in a few minutes anyway.<br /> Cook them until they're thoroughly browned -- ground turkey does not brown up the way ground beef does, but you'll be able to see a difference -- rolling/flipping them about the pan as they cook. They should feel fairly firm when done.<br /> <br /> ++ Bonus:<br /> These are pretty delicious just on their own (imo), but are even better if you cover them with pasta sauce, a layer of cheese, and then let it all simmer on low heat (with a lid on) for 10 - 15 minutes.

06-23-2012 at 6:44 PM

<b>Triple Chocolate Cheesecake</b><br>Makes 16 servings, diabetic safe.<br><br><b>Crust</b><br>1/2 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (about 15 wafers)<br>3 Tbsp confectioner's sugar<br>1 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder<br>1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted<br><br><b>Filling</b> 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (9 oz), such as Hershey's Special Dark chips<br><br><b>Layers</b><br>2 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened<br>8 oz 1% cottage cheese<br>1/3 cup granulated sugar<br>1/3 cup Splenda<br>4 large eggs<br>1/4 cup half and half<br>1 Tbsp vanilla extract<br>1/4 tsp salt<br><br><b>1. To prepare crust</b> Toss crumbs, confectioner's sugar, cocoa, and butter in medium bowl until moistened. Press mixture onto bottom and 1 1/2" up side of a 9" springform pan. Preheat oven to 350F.<br><b>2. To prepare filling</b> Place chips in large microwaveable bowl and microvave on high 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted. Set aside.<br><b>3. To prepare layers</b> Beat cream cheese, cottage cheese, granulated sugar, and Splenda in large bowl with electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in eggs, then half and half, vanilla estract, and salt. <br><b>4.</b> With rubber spatula, fold 1 1/2 cups of cheesecake batter into melted chocolate. Spread 2 cups of chocolate mixture onto crust. Blend 2 cups of cheescake mixture into remaining chocolate mixture. Spread 2 cups of mixture over first layer. Stir remaining cheesecake batter into remaining chocolate mixture and spread over second layer.<br><b>5. Bake </b>50 to 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Transfer chessecake to rack. With knife, immediatly loosen cake from side of pan. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate several hours, until thoroughly chilled. Remove from pan and serve.<br><br><br><b>Per serving</b> 240 cal, 8 g pro, 25 g carb, 7 g sugar, 13 g fat, 7 g sat fat, 75 mg chol, 0 g fiber, 220 mg sodium <b>Diet exchanges</b>0 milk, 0 vegetable, 0 fruit, 1 bread, 1 meat, 2 fat <b>Carb choices</b> 2

06-23-2012 at 6:14 PM

Sherlock, I think i have Kitchen Sink Cookies somewhere on here. They're the best way to let yourself start to experiment. They're a base cookie you add lots of fillers to.

06-23-2012 at 6:03 PM

Lost's Special Baked Chicken<br /> <br /> Chicken Injector [I love this]<br /> Small can pineapple [sliced] <br /> Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar<br /> Salt, pepper<br /> Lemon Juice<br /> BBQ Dry Rub<br /> Olive Oil<br /> Package of Chicken Thighs [these work best]<br /> <br /> Directions:<br /> Preheat over to 350<br /> <br /> Mix Juice from sliced pineapples, tablespoon of lemon juice and dash of salt and pepper and vinegar in a bowl, stir well. <br /> <br /> Set Thighs on baking pan. Inject with mixture evenly. <br /> <br /> Sprinkle Olive Oil on skin of chicken, sprinkle with BBQ Rub. This makes skin crispy and tasty. <br /> <br /> Bake app. 45 min to an hour. Check for clear juices running.<br /> <br /> Enjoy!