chad's favorite oatmeal cookies
a la carlie

1 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t soda
1 t salt
1/2 t - 1 t cinnamon (optional, but oatmeal cookies need this, yes?)
1 1/2 c flour
3 c oatmeal
1 c nuts (optional)
1-1 1/2 c chocolate chips

cream shortening and sugars. add eggs and vanilla. add remaining dry ingredients, then chocolate chips and nuts. bake at 350 for 10 minutes. if cookies flatten during baking, chill dough, then bake.

variation- increase flour to 2 1/2 cups, omit oatmeal for regular chocolate chip cookies.

nutella stuffed brown butter and sea salt cookies
a la ambitious kitchen 

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
 1 1/4 t baking soda
 1/4 t of salt
 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
 1 1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
 1/4 c granulated sugar 
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
 1 T plain greek yogurt 
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips 
1/2 c milk chocolate chips 
1/2 c dark chocolate chips 
1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator
 Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand VERY gently. (Really only the tops need to be flattened a bit!)Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

chef's note: this is surely a labor of love. i found there are a few too many chocolate chips to be able to smoosh out the dough enough to fold some in. but they are delish. they are good without the nutella inside too. 

pasta e fagioli
a la farm girl in the suburbs

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart of tomatoes (or 2 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes)

1 15-oz. can red kidney beans (w/ liquid)

1 15-oz. can Great Northern Beans (w/ liquid)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

1 T. white vinegar

1 ½ t. salt

1 t. oregano

1 t. basil

½ t. pepper

½ t. thyme

½ lb. Ditali pasta

1.  Brown the ground beef in a large stock pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat.

2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often.

4. At 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente.  Drain the pasta and add to the pot of soup.

5. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Korean Beef
a la Lizzy writes 

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4-1/2 c brown sugar (i used 1/4 and it was plenty!)
1/4 c soy sauce (low sodium is preferable)
1 T sesame seed oil
3 gloves garlic, minced
1/2 t fresh ginger
1/2-1 t crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced

heat large skillet over medium heat and brown meat with garlic and seseame seed oil. drain off most of the fat, and add sugar, soy sauce, ginger and pepper. simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. serve over rice or in lettuce wraps, topped with green onions.

chef's note: i used powdered ginger, and it was great. also, i didn't have the pepper flakes the first time, so it was less spicy, but the kids loved it.

Jalapeno Poppers Dip
a la big red kitchen 

2 8oz packages cream cheese, room temp
1 c mayo
1 c mexican blend cheese
1/2 c parmesam cheese
1- 4 oz can diced green chilis, not drained
1- 4 oz can sliced jalepenos, not drained (double if you like the heat)
topping:
1 c panko bread crumbs
1/2 c parmesam cheese
1/4 cup butter melted

pulse first 6 ingredients in a food processor until smooth. spread it in a greased 2 quart casserole dish.
in a separate bowl, mix bread crumbs, parm cheese then mix in melted butter. sprinkle evenly over dip. bake 375 for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly on the edges. do not over bake or mayo begins to separate.

chef's note: we baked ours in a 9x9 square pan, and it was too much crumb topping. next time i would do it in a larger pan, or use less topping.

Chocolate (Philabaum) cake
a la Thompson family

2 c flour
2 c sugar
1 t soda
1/2 t salt
1 c butter
1 c water
1/3 c cocoa
2 eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
1 1/2 t vanilla

sift together flour, sugar and soda. bring to boil water, butter and cocoa. add to dry and combine. add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and beat for 1 minute.
bake at 350 for 25 minutes for jelly roll pan, or 30-35 minutes for 9x13 pan.  frost while still hot.

Chocolate frosting
1/4 c butter
3 T cocoa
3 T buttermilk
2 1/4 c powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 t vanilla

bring butter, cocoa and buttermilk to boil. add sugar and vanilla. frost a hot cake while frosting is still  hot.

Butter Cookies with Eggnog Frosting
a la cooking channel 

1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
2 large egg yolks
1/2 t finely grated lemon zest
2 1/4 c flour

beat butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. add egg yolks one at a time. add lemon zest. turn mixer to lowest setting and gradually add flour until just incorporated.

divide into 2 portions, and roll into a log 2 inches in diameter. roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

remove from fridge and cut into 3/8 in circles. bake at 375 for 14 minutes.

Eggnog Frosting

2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c butter
2 T eggnog
freshly ground nutmeg
1 c powdered sugar
cinnamon

beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. add eggnog and nutmeg. turn to lowest setting and add powdered sugar until incorporated. frost completely cooled cookies, and dust with cinnamon.