Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Hello my people,

These bar cookies are sooooo good! I didn't have time to take a picture but trust me, you will like them.

Happy Memorial Day,
Love,
jpt


Jill's Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy PB
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 bag of milk chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add PB and eggs. Beat until smooth. Add vanilla, soda, salt, oats and flour and press into a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 375. Place chocolate chips over hot bars and melt in oven for a few minutes. With a knife smooth out chocolate chips. Allow to cool completely.

Frosting:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter
1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (add until it's at a desired consistency...I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 T milk

Mix all ingredients together and spread over cooled bars.

To add some color, I grated a little semi-sweet chocolate over the top.

Soft and cake-like Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey Courtney, this ones for you! I will post some more desserts soon!

When I was in college my roommates and I loved Archway cookies. They were so soft and yummy. I found this recipe in a magazine years and ago and it is just like our Archway cookies. I love them!!

Do you people even know what Archway cookies are?

First cream some brown sugar and shortening:


Add the eggs and vanilla (note the little hole in my chickens egg):




Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Then alternate adding flour, then sour cream, mix a bit, add some more flour, then sour cream, mix a bit, etc.




Fold in some chocolate chips:





Make into cute balls:


Yummy cookies are done!



Soft-and-Cake like Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
8 oz. carton diary sour cream
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate pieces


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl. beat shortening and brown sugar on medium to high speed until combined.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to shortening mixture, beating after each addition.

With a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate pieces


Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookies sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool on wire rack. Makes 60 cookies.

Chicken Breasts w/ Cornmeal-Coriander Crust and Black Bean-Mango Salsa

Hello People,

My sister-in-law, Michelle, sent me this recipe. It is pretty darn good! (I must admit, I have made more than a few nasty new recipes over the past two weeks. So, when the kids sat down for dinner, they were very, very leery, but fortunately, they liked it!)

Here is what you need to make the mango salsa:

Be sure to make it a few hours in advance to let the flavors blend.



Chop up the red onions, mango and cilantro. Cut the fresh corn off the cob. Drain the black beans, juice the limes and instead of oil, Michelle used: 1 T. olive oil with 3 - 4 sprinkles of chili powder. If you are brave you could use red pepper flakes! Michelle quadruples the lime juice, olive oil/chili powder. I did too, it definitely needs the moisture. Mix it all up, cover with some saran wrap and put in fridge.



Next: cornmeal and ground coriander. What is coriander anyways? It gives the chicken a nice flavor though!



This is a very bright picture of the cornmeal and coriander.



Time to cook. Spray your pan with Pam (if some people around here didn't have high cholesterol, I would use butter, mmmmm. So much for aging, Pam it is.)



Coat just one side of the chicken in the cornmeal mixture.



Put the cornmeal side down in the pan and cook until nicely browned.



Flip it over and cook the non-cornmeal side until lightly browned.



Then I put it in the oven to finish cooking as the recipe suggests (see below for recipe).

Take the chicken out and slice it up so prettily.



Put your Mango Salsa on top and wallah, you have dinner! Enjoy! Thank you Michelle.




Chicken Breasts with Cornmeal-Coriander Crust and Black Bean-Mango Salsa

2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled pitted mangoes
1 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, drained, rinsed
3/4 cup fresh white corn kernels
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chili oil*
1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon ground coriander
8 5-ounce skinless boneless chicken breasts, excess fat trimmed
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

*Available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets.

Place first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Toss to combine. Season salsa with salt and pepper. Cover; let stand 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 250°F. Mix cornmeal and coriander in shallow bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Generously spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Place skillet over medium-high heat. Coat 1 side of each chicken breast with cornmeal mixture. Place 4 chicken breasts, cornmeal side down, in skillet; cook until golden on bottom, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Turn chicken over. Cook chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to baking sheet. Keep warm in oven. Wipe out skillet, then spray with more nonstick spray. Repeat with remaining 4 chicken breasts.

Cut chicken breasts diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer to plates. Spoon salsa atop chicken and serve.


Bon Appétit
April 1999

LeeAnn's Marinade

Dear Faithful "7" Friends,

Here it is, I finally sat down and put the pictures on my computer for LeeAnn's marinade.

But first, some of you have asked me why I make my own food. Well, for one I can control where the ingredients come from; I can control how much of the ingredients I can put in things (especially salt) and in my own little warped mind: I think the things I make from scratch taste better (majority of the time) way better than what comes in a bottle, a box or from the freezer section at Ralph's. Call me crazy if you like, but there you have it.

So, that being said, here what you need for the marinade: soy sauce (low sodium), canola oil, sugar, ground ginger, garlic.



Put it all in a zip-loc baggie and smoosh it together. Then add your chicken or meat. I used beef tenderloin and cut the strips into thirds.



Smoosh it around so more and refrigerate. The great thing about this marinade is that you can let it soak all day or just for 15 or 30 min. It always tastes good.



Throw it on the barbie and dinner is ready.



And then my camera battery died, so no picture of the end result, trust me it was good.

xo,
Janette

P.S. Hey Sarah Jane, I made Salsa Chicken tonight, do you have that recipe?

LeeAnn's Marinade

1 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 c. canola oil
4 t. sugar
2 t. ground ginger
1 clove garlic

Chicken Scampi

I love this recipe because it is healthy, fast and easy. My pictures aren't that great and I forgot to take a bunch of them but hey, who just had shoulder surgery!

Here is of what you need:



First, slice up the onions, cut the tomatoes into chunks, chop up the parsley and juice the lemons and cut-the chicken into bite sized pieces..

Get a big pot of water boiling for your pasta because . . . . the rest goes really fast.

First heat up your oil so that it is pretty hot but not too hot. Then add the garlic:



Add the chicken and let it cook until it is browned:



Flip the chicken over and brown it on the other side. Browning it makes the sauce taste even better. Your chicken should look something like this:



Throw your pasta in the bowling water while you do that last few steps:

Turn down the heat to simmer and add the tomatoes, onions, parsley and the lemon juice. Scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, making a nice brown light gravy.



Mmmmm, that looks good doesn't it.

Drain your pasta, pour your chicken on the top and there you have it: Chicken Scampi!



You are probably wondering where the recipe for LeeAnn's marinade is, I am too . . . remember . . . surgery. . . shoulder. . . me . . . loosing my mind, etc.

xo,
Janette

Chicken Scampi

6 pieces chicken, cubed
olive oil
3 t. garlic, crushed
2 bunches green onion, sliced
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
4 tomatoes, cut-up
1/2 c. lemon juice

Brown chicken in olive oil and garlic. Turn down to simmer and add rest of ingredients. Pour over pasta.

I am alive!

Dear People,

I am coming back! My arm is improving, it is slow but every day it is better. Thanks for all your love and many phone calls.

I can type now and am very good at using the mouse with my left hand. So, I think tonight I shall share with you a yummy marinade from my friend LeeAnn, which I call: LeeAnns's Marinade (I am very original with my recipe titles).

Have a fun Sunday with your "people".
Love,
Janette

P.S. Do you love the cowboys on the Amazing Race? I do, I love them.