myJaxon

So I’m making food for Jesse to take into work again. This time around, I’m making the Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies
again. Although, this time, I did mix it up a little. For the vegetarians, I used the same recipe, but I didn’t include the bacon (obviously). I still included the almond extract and the maple glaze, but I used white chocolate/milk chocolate swirl chips instead of straight semi-sweet chips.

Another mix up I did was to include 1/2 tsp maple extract to the dough. Normally, the only place the maple is used is for the glaze, but I decided to add a little to the dough as well. Although, honestly, I decided to do this when I mistook the maple for the almond. So there really wasn’t much of a choice in adding it. I also added the bacon bits to the glaze instead of using them to garnish the cookies. We’ll see how it turns out though.

The cookies actually came out really well. Jesse’s not crazy about the white/milk chocolate swirl chips, but that doesn’t surprise me since he doesn’t like white or milk chocolate. I don’t think they are all that bad. The bacon cookies came out well. Even though I added the maple to the dough, it worked. You could definitely taste the maple; and I also reduced the amount of maple in the glaze so it didn’t become overpowering. Adding the bacon to the glaze was a great move. It helped thickened up the glaze and it didn’t run over the side of the cookies as much. You can still tell there is bacon on the cookie, but it’s more a part of the cookie instead of as a garnish.

For those of you who keep asking/wondering if these taste good or not, I’m thinking about making them for the party we’re planning this summer to show off the new house. So you’ll be able to try them then.

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this one before. I came up with this while we were still out in Washington DC and I’m still trying to prefect it. Actually, I’m still trying to make fudge correctly. It crystallizes on me to quickly. I’ll get the hang of it eventually, but even though the fudge doesn’t turn out right, the taste is still awesome! I love me some mint and oreos and this fudge is still good (as long as the crystals aren’t too bad). This recipe was a pain in the butt to make, but it was so good once it was done. I’m still trying to perfect the recipe, so if anyone has any good ideas, I’m so open to them.

I prefer to use the double-stuffed oreos, but any kind of oreos should work. I also recommend using a wooden spatula or fork to crush the oreos.

Servings/Makes: 36 pieces or 1-3/4 pounds
Attributed to: Jackie Morgan

Ingredients:
3 cups - Sugar
2/3 cup - Cocoa
1/8 tsp - Salt
1-2/3 cups - Milk
1/4 cup - Butter or Margarine
1 tsp - Vanilla
1 tsp - Peppermint extract
24 - Cookies, oreos crushed

Directions:
Line 8-or 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter foil.

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in heavy 4-quart saucepan; stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full rolling boil. Boil, without stirring, until mixture reaches 234 degrees F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water, forms a soft ball which flattens when removed from water. (Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan.)

Remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla, and mint. DO NOT STIR. Cool at room temperature to 110 degree F (lukewarm). Mix in oreos. Beat with wooden spoon until fudge thickens and just begins to lose some of its gloss. Do not over stir. Quickly spread into prepared pan; cool completely. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

So this was a complete improvisation. My original thought was to make my Chicken Rice Skillet, but then I realized that I didn’t have the rice. So this recipe was born. It’s nothing spectacular, but it smells good. I tend to just throw things in when I’m cooking and since I was improving, I threw in some garlic. It helps lower cholesterol and since Jesse’s is up there, I’ve been making a lot of things with garlic these days. The jar of red sauce I used was something I had in the pantry. It happens to be an organic Italian Herb made by Muir Glen, but any kind of sauce will do.

It doesn’t look the greatest, but according to Jesse “It’s not as disgusting as I thought it would be”. The picture is’nt all that great either. I took it off of Ian’s plate, which also happens to be his high chair tray. My dishes are white as well, so I doubt I would have gotten a great picture from that as well. For something coming out of “oh no I don’t have any rice”, it’s not bad. It’s your basic pasta primavera ripoff.

Overall, not a bad dish. One thing I would do different, I served the dish by spooning the sauce over the pasta. Next time, Jesse recommends mixing the pasta in with the sauce before serving.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups water
1 tbsp margarine or butter
1 bag (1 pound) frozen broccoli and corn
1 25.5 oz jar of red sauce
3 cloves of garlic
garlic powder
Medium shell pasta, cooked

Directions:
In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center.

Add water and margarine; heat to boiling. Stir in vegetables, garlic cloves, garlic powder, and sauce. Simmer until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, cover and let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Spread over shells and enjoy.

So Jesse and I sat down tonight and designed the new OpenSourceCook site. It’s still pretty raw, but I thought I would put it out there for people to see and give any feedback. Is there anything missing from the layout that should be there? Is there anything you want me to include? Here’s the link to the layout. It’s a PDF file, so you’ll have to download it.

Here’s a brief description of what you’ll find:

1. The first page is the main page. This is where you’ll come when you first go to OSC.
2. The second page is the individual recipe page. You’ll be able to submit variations to the recipes, add any comments, and even submit any images if there isn’t any.
3. The third page is a users page. In order to submit recipes or leave comments, you’ll have to register and there’ll be a section where you can add your favorite recipes and keep a list of recipes you’ve submitted.

So what does everyone think? I’m looking for feedback here people.

You heard me correctly….Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Now don’t go knockin them just yet. Have you tried them? Are you sure they are not good? Jesse handed me this recipe after going on and on about how great bacon is and how it tastes great with everything. Well, I was skeptical about this recipe, but I’ve made it and it’s not that bad.

The original recipe came from the blog Ooh you tasty little things…. She [Muffin] goes into more detail than I will, but she’s had a really great response to this recipe. I will admit, it’s strange biting into a chocolate chip cookie and tasting bacon, but it’s not horrendous. In fact, the bacon isn’t really that powerful. You get enough of a taste of something salty, but mix that with the chocolate and it really works. Yes, it’s strange and odd. But there are a ton of things that are strange and odd that are not so after you try them. It’s worth the experimentation.

Here’s the recipe:

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg
2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces (about 2lbs)

*An important note- Be sure to use real bacon bits, not Bacos *See large print at the bottom of this post*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Beat together the butter, sugars, flavoring and eggs until creamy. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together. Dough will be slightly soft. If you want a cakier cookie, add another half cup of flour. Add in chocolate chips and bacon bits. Stir until well integrated. Place dough on a sheet of waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour. Remove dough from fridge, pinch off 1 1/2 inch pieces of dough and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly with your fingers in the center.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack while you ready the glaze.

Maple Cinnamon Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp maple extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp water to make a thick glaze

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. If lumpy, use a whisk. Spread a small amount of the glaze on the top of each cookie and top with a small piece of crisp cooked bacon.