Easy Chocolate chip cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350 – 375 degrees F

3/4 cup softened butter or butter flavored shortening

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon Molasses

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2-3  Tablespoon milk

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks (frozen)

( this was so hard to write down because I don't actually measure it any more XD).

Mix or cream softened butter or shortening with sugars, and eggs, then add vanilla and milk. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in. Completely combine before turning in frozen chip. Chill dough for half an hour before making two inch balls or using an ice cream scoop. I prefer to put my cookies on parchment to back but a simple nonstick spray will work too. Place the balls at flatten to about ½ and inch or thumb thickness. The cookies back in 10-18 minutes depending on altitude and humidity. I usually switch and turn the pans after 6 minutes to ensure even baking.

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Broiled Pork chops with spiced apple-onion chutney 

Chutney was one of the first toppings for meat I learned to make, after gravy. I get all kinds of crazy with it, adding raisins or dates or roasted nuts. I even made a peach chile chutney for chicken once... it was 'different'. 

Pork Chops

1 Tbs butter or olive oil

1 teaspoons coarse salt

1 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 pork chops (broil according to thickness or cook in pan if you prefer)

Chutney

3 Tbs butter or olive oil (or to make really good, use bacon drippings.)

2 tea apple pie spice (equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger)

¼ tea thyme

½ tea rosemary

2 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch julienne = 1C (sweet red, vidalia or very mild yellow)

4-6 green or red apples (pie apples work best but any apple that is firm),cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks = 2- 2 ½ C apple chunks ( I like the to use different colored apples to add color to the dish but you can peal them if you like)

1 cup balsamic red wine vinegar (some people use apple cider vinegar, I find it too pungent)

2 Tbs brown sugar or 3 Tbs honey

Season 6 pork chops with salt, pepper, and sage and rub with oil or butter. Place under broiler on oiled pan, until meat center is 165 degrees F for 1-2 minutes, turn once or twice.

Chop apples, and sweet onions in to ½ inch chunks. Melt butter in sauce pan, add spices to melted butter and onions, as onions start to caramelize ( about 2-3 minutes) add apples. Let the apples get a little bit of color on them, then add brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, let it reduce liquid by a third on low heat ( for 10 minutes) this will soften the apples and onions the rest of the way, makes about 6 third to half cup servings. Dress pork chops with warm chutney and serve.

This also goes really well with ham, turkey, venison, and pork roast. My husband loves it with savory sausage.

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Mama K's Perogies

The last recipe is perogies which are a kind of potato-filled dumpling. They take a lot of work but are totally worth it. First you make the dumpling, then you rest the dumplings, then you boil the dumplings, drain and dry them, then saute the dumplings. They are wonderful with just butter or any kind of white sauce or gravy.

Perogie dough (the one I learned when I worked in a nursing homein college, from the sister of a patient)

4 cups flour, 1 small palm of salt ( slightly more than 1 ½ teaspoon), 1 ¾ cup of sour cream, 4 egg yolks ( no whites, none, zero, 'slapped on the back of the hand with a wooden spoon', Mama K was not kidding! Egg whites are for cakes and latkes.) and ¼ c olive oil or vegetable oil or melted butter.

Mix yolks, oil, and cream. Make a hill of flour (like a volcano). Salt the mountain. Pour the liquid in the center and vrásnenie ( YES! I had to google this word to spell it but it means to fold but what she did was pinching the flour and yolk/cream together with her fingers. Imagine chatty hands.) Then the dough sleeps, and you beat it and roll it awake it. Cut it into rounds, and fill the 'moons', sealing them with a tear ( drop of salted water) before you pinch it like a baby's cheek.

The way I do it now is dry stuff into the mixer, liquid into the dry 1/3 at a time, and pulse, the last third I hand fold in. The consistency is a lot like pasta dough, and by a lot I mean exactly. Cut the dough into balls let it rest about 20 minutes (long enough to get the fillings cooking), roll until desired thickness on a floured surface, If the dough gets too stiff, you can loosen it up with a little water. I use my pasta press to roll the dough. And I use a 3 inch pastry ring to cut my rounds.

Perogies are basically filled with boiled, mashed potatoes mixed with literally EVERYTHING else, meat, or cheese, or other vegetables, anything except tomatoes, because tomatoes means they are raviolis (therefore Italian), which means not perogies and Mama K's spoon will find you... The first time I had cauliflower perogies, they had chicken in them. (My poor friend Joanne is allergic to potatoes, and always subbed the two. They tasted amazing but she didn't know about the water content of cauliflower vs potatoes).

1 large head of Cauliflower,

4 large potatoes – peeled and chopped,

1 finely diced medium yellow onion,

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

4 slices of bacon, diced

salt and pepper to taste,

½ cup of sour cream

½ cup of finely shredded white cheddar

Boil, drain, and mash the cauliflower and drain well. Boil, drain, and mash the potatoes. Brown the bacon and garlic and onions until all caramelized. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Chill. Add cheese to filling. 

Put a generous tablespoon of the filling into the center of the dough round, swipe the edge with a drop of salt water, fold and pinch several times to seal.

After they are filled, drop them a few at a time into salted boiling water, they will float when ready. (don't overboil or they get gummy) Scoop them out with a wire strainer or slotted spoon, set aside on a wire rack to drain. Brown the perogie while still hot. (Mama K mostly skipped this step, but I prefer them this way.)

Melt 1 Tbs of butter in a saute pan, skillet, etc. Once the butter sings, brown the outside of the perogies and serve. Sprinkled with extra cheese.

Thanks Monica Agentmg17 for the lovely menus and cover art.

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9.2018 - CLAYTON is published!!!

Clayton (The Wildflower Series) by Rachelle Mills https://www.amazon.com/dp/164034487X/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_S8sbDbB084P46 via @amazon

2.2019- DALLAS is published!!!

Dallas (The Wildflower Series Book 2) by Rachelle Mills https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MXRVB7M/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_o9sbDbPFY61NH via @amazon
Find them on Amazon

::Thank you to Rachelle for allowing this CLAYTON Fanfiction to be published.:: 

If you are reading this on a site that is not Wattpad, it has been taken

and published without my permission.