Sometimes Simple Things Are Just Better

Do you have a number you use every time you exaggerate?  My mom's number is 16.  We knew when she said 16, 16,000, or 16,000,000 she didn't really mean it.   For me my number changes.  But my mom's has been constant.  After moving to Colorado, I was helping in the kitchen and was told to use 16 eggs in a recipe.  I found that a bit funny and wondered at first if they were exaggerating.  But actually the recipe did call for 16 eggs.  

The recipe that called for 16 eggs was Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies were a big part of being a kid for me.  My mom made them a lot.  I can recall seeing piles of chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter so many afternoons.  I loved walking into the house to smell cookies baking.  My mom had a secret to her cookies.  It was a secret she was to pass down to her daughters.  Somehow, I have yet to be given this secret.  So I make my cookies by the recipes that required 16 eggs.  However, I don't use 16 eggs.


Although eating cookies is comforting and takes me back to being a kid, the best part of making cookies is not eating the finished product.  The best part of making cookies is eating the cookie dough while baking them.  My grandmother would have a fit if she heard me say that.  Always warning I would get sick and die from eating the raw eggs.  But I always disregarded her warning and ate away.  


The recipe I got in Colorado calls for pecans, semisweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, but I think sometimes simple things are just better.  I like basic milk chocolate chip cookies.  I will also give you the variation with the pecans and white chocolate chips.


Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup Shortening
1 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour*
1 - 12 oz bag milk chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350.  Cream shortening and sugars in a mixer.  Add vanilla & eggs and mix.  Add soda & salt, mix.  Slowly mix in flour.   Add all chocolate chips all at once.  Once you have added the chips, mix as little as possible.  Mixing will break up the chips and turn dough dark which you do not want.  I often hand mix the chips in.
Make golf ball sized balls and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 12 minutes until the cookies begin to turn light brown.


*If you live above 4000 ft in elevation, you may need to add up to 1/4 cup of flour and bake them a little longer.  I live at 4500 ft and I add 1/8 cup extra flour.  At 8500 ft we added 1/4 cup extra flour.


To make the Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies:
substitute 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips for the milk chocolate chips
add 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans

Never Again Will I Say I Don't Like BBQ Sauce

I  really wanted to get a recipe out today but inspiration just hasn't hit me this morning.  Hopefully a can of efusjon will help.  Quite a few of my recipes came from my time spent in Colorado at the ranch.  I learned a thing or two about cooking while I was there.  I learned a thing or two about life while I was there also.

I spent a little over a year at the ranch.  I loved living in the boonies out in the mountains.  The experiences gained were amazing.  I relearned to horseback ride, learned to snowmobile, learned more about people and learned so much more about cooking.  I also learned to like BBQ sauce again.  The recipe I'd like to share came from the ranch.  It is the most well liked recipe I make.  However, the story I'd like to share isn't about the ranch.  It begins several years before moving to Colorado, even several years before college.

When I was a young kid, my family moved to Idaho.  My parents moved us to a small town to start a church.  Along with the ministry of the church, my mom ran a daycare in our house.  This allowed her to take care of our young family while bringing in an income.  As our family aged, our needs changed and it was time for mom to work outside our house.  I was thrilled with this.  As a teenager, I was tired of all the little kids running around our house.  I just wanted privacy.  My younger sister wasn't as excited.  She was "losing" all her friends.   This change was a big one for us.  It meant dad had to begin cooking for us.  Dad was creative with his cooking.  I realize he was trying.  However, he liked to put his "secret ingredient" in nearly everything.  Although, he never told me his "secret ingredient," I believe it was bbq sauce.  This began my season of hating bbq sauce.  Contrary to popular belief (or just my dad's), bbq sauce does not belong in ramen noodles, rice,  or so many other things.  I also began to learn to cook around this time.  But I didn't use bbq sauce.  In fact, I didn't eat bbq sauce again until I moved to the ranch.

At the ranch, I was introduced to bbq ribs - amazing bbq ribs.  Ribs that you dream about.  I have seen people eat an entire rack of these ribs.  Never again will I say I don't like bbq sauce.

To make these amazing BBQ Ribs:

Baby Back Pork Ribs (or St. Louis style) 1 rack for every 2 people
Chopped garlic
Brown sugar
Pepper
Pineapple Juice

BBQ Sauce:
1 -18oz KC Masterpiece bbq sauce - original
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 drop tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Place racks of ribs in a baking pan.  Rub each rack (both sides) with brown sugar, garlic & pepper.  Pour pineapple juice over the racks, cover & place in oven.  Bake for about 3 hours.  The meat will be tender and pull easily away from the bone.  (When I lived in TX, it only took 2.5 hours to cook)

For the BBQ sauce, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until warm.

After ribs are done in the oven, preheat the grill.  Cut in pieces with 2 rib bones in each piece.  Dip rips into bbq sauce.  Turn grill to low and place ribs on grill.  You will just be caramelizing the bbq sauce.  Cook until grill lines appear.  Depending on the temp of the grill, it will take 5 to 10 minutes on each side.
Serve with lots of napkins.

Time on My Hands

Recently I lost my full time job and have quite a bit of time on my hands. I have been a bit stir crazy trying to find something to do with my time. Tonight while watching my usual Monday night TV, I started flipping through cookbooks that I've had for quite sometime but have never really looked through. I found many recipes I wanted to try and began making a list. Another list began to create itself. A list of recipes I love and go to often. Recipes I would love to share with my friends.

As the TV shows came to an end and the news began, the realization of winter's nearness caused me to look forward to cooking those warm comfort food recipes. The recipes of our lives seem to change with the seasons of our lives along with the seasons of the year. I hope to share the recipes of the past seasons of my life along with new recipes I try through this new season of life.

Eccl 3:1 There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.