No Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend Kelly sent me this recipe from allrecipes.com. She's made them herself and she and her husband loved them. On the website, they received excellent ratings. 

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (You could also use milk chocolate chips for something less bitter)

  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir with fork so all ingredients are mixed. 

In large bowl, combine sugars, and butter. Mix until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy. 

Add 1 cup of dry ingredients at a time to mixture until all is incorporated. Drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

I found these on another website and wanted to share with you guys. They promise to be better than the restaurant version, and they sure sound like it! Enjoy! 

Biscuits
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup  sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (for topping)

Garlic Butter Topping

4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
garlic salt, to taste 

Adjust oven rack upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.  

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease for easy removal of biscuits.

Whisk together flour, cheddar cheese, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic in a medium bowl.  

Add milk and stir until ingredients are mixed, be careful not to over mix.  

At this point the dough should be fairly sticky but not runny or dry.  Add more flour or milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.
Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet with a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons worth of dough).  Top each biscuit with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to brown.
In a small bowl, melt the butter along with the garlic and parsley in the microwave.  Brush tops with garlic butter mixture and sprinkle with garlic salt to taste.

Easy BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

**NOTE: I first got the chicken sandwich recipe from my friend, Jaime. She uses Cattlemen's BBQ Sauce, Carolina Tangy Gold. It's excellent! They also make a Mississippi flavor that's really good. This recipe is a variation on that; I used a different sauce and added root beer.

These are so easy to make, but taste like you spent a lot of time on them! The root beer gives an extra layer of flavor and leaves a nice after taste. 

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts (more if you're feeding a crowd)

1 bottle Jack Daniel's Spicy Original BBQ Sauce (you could use another kind, but this is the one I used when I made it, and they were a hit!)

1 can root beer (I just used store brand)

salt and pepper

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper

Place in a shallow baking dish and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes

In a crock pot, add root beer and BBQ sauce. Mix until blended. Set crock pot on high. 

Trim fat from chicken, shred, and place in crock pot with sauce.

I cooked mine on high for almost an hour, stirring it occasionally. You could also let it simmer on low for awhile. Just make sure you're checking and stirring sometimes. 

Also, when I served ours, I had some left over in the crock pot, so I turned it down to keep it from burning. Serve on hamburger buns or King's Hawaiian bread. They make little sub rolls and hamburger-like buns that work great!

Linguine with Onion, Bacon, and Parmesan

My step-mom sent me this recipe awhile ago. It's from familytime.com. I have yet to try it, but she sent it to me because it's similar to a dish she had at Olive Garden and loved! Happy eating!

1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips

2 onions, sliced thin

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 pound linguine

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon until crisp. 

Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. 

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. 

Put the pan over moderate heat. Add the onions, the thyme, the red-pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. 

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until just done, about 12 minutes. 

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. 

Drain the linguine and toss with the bacon, onions, 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the Parmesan, parsley, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. 

If the sauce seems too thick, add more of the pasta water. 

Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.