Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

A friend of mine on Facebook posted this last week. It's from Allrecipes.com. It was very easy, they're delicious and I did double it. I didn't even need a standup mixer, I used a wooden spoon. You could use one though if you have one. I didn't feel like taking mine out...



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies III

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts ( I did not use walnuts)

Directions

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Auntie Mary Iacampo's Blueberry Muffins

Great Aunty Mary Iacampo passed away this fall at 100 years old. There was a Blueberry Muffin recipe that she'd always talk about - a favorite of Mom's which we'd always ask about when visiting Mary...it would give her something to get excited about because she always thought that we had it wrong! Well... here is the recipe from Mary, though the verbal instructions didn't include a baking temperature or time... So Mom has guessed in that regard; trial and error is the last ingredient!

RECIPE

1/2 C. butter  (1 stick)

1 C. sugar

1 egg

1 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 C. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. blueberries (1 pint)

Dust the blueberries with a little flour taken from the 1 cup flour to keep them from sinking.

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix.  Combine milk and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients.  Then mix dry ingredients and milk alternately with creamed mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill paper lined tins to top. Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (or just plain sugar) before baking.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes (or try 400 for 25 minutes).  Auntie Mary didn’t say what at temperature or for how long these should bake, so try one temp/time, and if that doesn’t work well, try the other next time, or check with other similar recipes. 

Easy Chicken in Wine

Another one we grew up eating.

This is much healthier if you take the skin off the chicken.

I never do that. It's much more delicious with it on. It might be the best part. :)

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breast quarters

1 cup burgandy wine

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 tsp. crushed oregano

2 TBL water

1 garlic clove sliced in quarters

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 TBL brown sugar

Directions:

Wash and drain chicken quarters. Place in shallow baking dish. Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover with foil. Refrigerate if there is time to do ahead. If so, spoon sauce over chicken several times.

Bake chicken covered about one hour at 375 degrees. Uncover and cook about 10-15 minutes longer and baste with wine sauce for futher browning.

Use gravy separater to separate oil from sauce if desired.

Bake some baking potatoes at the same time you bake the chicken. Use the sauce on the potatoes too, very good, especially if the skin on the potatoes is crunchy too.

Mom's German Apple Cake

For all of you who went apple picking this fall...

I have no idea what makes this German, but it's a recipe I grew up on (again.)

I specifically remember making it with my brother and my dad the one time I ever remember my mom being sick.  We made it to surprise her.

Enjoy!



Ingredients:
3 c. chopped or shredded apples
1 c. oil
2 c. flour
1/2 c. choc. chips (or a few more if you love 'em!)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together by hand in large bowl.
Grease and flour bundt pan.
Pour batter into pan.

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool 1/2 hr. before removing from the pan.

Apricot Chicken

The Red Rooster Restaurant used to be in North Kingstown and Norman LeClair was the chef there. He put out a few good cookbooks, but of all his recipes this was my favorite.

2 whole chicken breasts (I usually use a bunch of boneless, skinless tenders instead, enough for my family)

If using the whole chicken breasts, they should be skinned, boned, halved and flattened with excess fat removed.

1/2 cup flavored bread crumbs (I use plain)

4 mushroom caps, stems removed (if I don't have mushrooms I skip this step it's not crucial)

2 tsp. butter

Glaze:

1/2 c. apricot jelly

 2 garlic cloves minced

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of crushed red pepper (I skip this)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

In a flat dish, press crumbs into chicken on both sides. Reserve.

Mix well in bowl: apricot jelly, ginger, garlic, red pepper, vinegar, soy sauce.  Reserve.

Using 1/2 of butter, butter one oven proof dish (I just spray the dish with cooking spray.)

Lay out chicken in the dish.

Top with mushrooms if using.

Spoon glaze on chicken and mushrooms.

Dot with butter.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Remove to serving plates and spoon remaining glaze on chicken.

I serve this over white rice.