Giant Choco chip cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup melted unsalted butter, browned and cooled

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate

1 cup chocolate chips semi sweet

*to make the cookies chocolate cookies just add 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with some butter.

In a bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and melted butter with a mixer/hand whisk for about 3min. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until the mixture becomes light and creamy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix the dry ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until just blended. Do not over mix. Add in the chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks and mix everything together. Remember, do NOT over mix.

Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the cookie sheet with the scoops of batter with plastic wrap/cling wrap and refrigerate. (This makes thicker, chewy cookies with a crunchy bottom, if you like flat/thin cookies, don’t refrigerate batter)

Refrigerate the batter for at least 1hr. I usually refrigerate it for 3 hours or overnight.

Bake at 375F for 7minutes then reduce temp to 325F and bake for 7-9min (depending on your desired done-ness. 7min would still leave a little doughy texture in the middle of the cookie and 9min would be pretty much cooked all the way through 🙂 serve warm and enjoy with milk/ice cream! Or you can also sprinkle some sea salt on top after the cookies come out of the oven 🙂 enjoy!

5 cheese Baked rigatoni/ziti

1lb italian sausage
1tbsp garlic chopped
Mushrooms
1onion chopped
1 cup Mozzarella cheese grated
1 cup Italian cheese
1/4cup Parmesan cheese
16oz ricotta
1 egg
1tsp parsley if dried 1tbsp if fresh
Marinara sauce/crushed/pureed tomatoes
Pasta of choice

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning

Boil pasta water. (Add pasta and cook according to instructions when water starts to boil)
Preheat oven 375F

Saute onions. Add sausage and cook until brown. Add garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 2min. Add tomato puree/marinara sauce. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Let it simmer while pasta is cooking.

Mix together egg, ricotta, parmesan and parsley. Set aside. mix with pasta once noodles are cooked.

In a baking dish layer in this order:
Meat sauce,
pasta with ricotta mixture,
mozzarella,
sauce,
italian cheese,
pasta,
sauce,
Top with mozarella, Italian cheese

Bake in oven for 15min at 375. Increase temp to broil for 5min or until top is browned according to preference.

Chicken lettuce wraps

My take on Chicken lettuce wraps

Marinade/glaze
1/4 cup chicken stock
2tbsp hoisin sauce
2tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sesame oil
2tbsp garlic minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sriracha
1tbsp brown sugar
Salt
Pepper

Filling
Diced chicken breasts
1 small yellow onion minced
Crimini/baby bella mushrooms diced
1/4 cup green onion chopped
2 tbsp chopped garlic

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade in a small cup. Set aside 1/3 of the marinade for the end. Pour the rest over the chicken, cover and refrigerate (at least 30mins) until you are ready to cook them.

Heat some oil in a pan. Sauté onions, green onions, garlic and mushrooms (season with a little salt and pepper) until onions are translucent. Add in chicken with marinade, sauté while stirring until chicken is cooked and most of the liquid is gone. If you want a thicker sauce, add 1tbsp cornstarch to the remaining 1/3 of the marinade/glaze that you set aside earlier and mix until free of lumps, then pour over the chicken and let it bubble away for a few minutes until the sauce is nice and thick.

Let the chicken cool a little and spoon over clean lettuce leaves and enjoy 🙂

Chicken alfredo

Boneless skinless Chicken thighs/breast tenders cut into bite sized pieces

Baby bella mushrooms sliced

Garlic chopped (2-4 cloves)

Heavy cream 2 cups

Pasta noodles of choice 16oz package

Salt

Pepper

Parsley

Chicken bouillon powder 1/2 tsp

Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)

Boil water for pasta noodles. Once the water is boiling, add in the noodles and cook according to the package instructions.

Turn the stove on medium heat. Heat up the oil in the pan and brown the chicken. Once browned, move the chicken to one side and put in the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté mushrooms until soft about 1-2min. Add in the garlic and sauté for 1min. Pour in heavy cream. Stir continuously until small bubbles form on the surface. Add in chicken bouillon powder. Stir. Add in parmesan and stir until it melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix the sauce and noodles together and top with parsley and more cheese. Enjoy!

Vanilla cake with strawberry compote, stabilized whipped cream and macerated strawberries and blueberries

I made the cake in this order:

Vanilla cake: I followed the cake in this recipe

One Layer Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Strawberry compote:

1/4 cup water, 1tbsp cornstarch, 1lb strawberries hulled and chopped into bitesized pieces, juice from 1 lemon

Stir together the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan. Once the cornstarch is dissolved, turn the stove on to medium, stir in the rest of the ingredients for the compote. Keep stirring for 5minutes. Turn off the stove and let it cool.

Stabilized whipped cream:

1 packet unflavored gelatin (1tbsp), 4tbsp water, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (set aside 1tbsp of cream for tempering the gelatin), 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1tsp vanilla

Dissolve gelatin in warm water. Keep stirring. Put it through a strainer to remove lumps. Temper with 1 tbsp of cold heavy cream. Set aside. Whip the heavy cream in a mixer until soft peaks form. Add in vanilla, sugar and tempered gelatin. Mix until stiff peaks form. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Macerated strawberries:

1/2lb strawberries hulled and quartered, 2tbsp sugar, 1tbsp lemon juice

Mix all of the ingredients together. Set aside in the refrigerator.

CAKE ASSEMBLY:

Spread the strawberry compote evenly on top of the cake. Top with whipped cream. Decorate with the macerated strawberries and fresh blueberries. enjoy!

Instant pot egg bites

My recipe makes 14 bites (2 containers) and 3 small ramekins of egg bites

12 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1tsp salt

1tsp pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded italian blend cheese

1 tomato diced

3 turkey breakfast sausage links

3 slices of bacon

1/4 cup diced ham

Basil leaves cut into small pieces

Beat eggs and milk for 2 mins until fluffy and lighter in color. Add in salt and pepper, mix. Add the sour cream and beat the mixture together. (I use a fork)

***do not overfill the silicone molds or ramekins. The eggs will expand a little when cooked. Spray/brush egg bite molds and small ramekins with oil. Put a little bit of your choice of topping, mine was ham/tomato; bacon; sausage, in the bottom of the ramekins or silicone molds. Ladle egg mixture into the silicone egg bite molds until about half full. Sprinkle in some cheese. Ladle more egg mixture into the ramekins/silicone molds until 2/3 full. Sprinkle in some more meat/ tomatoes/basil and top with cheese 🙂 cover with foil.

I have an 8qt Instant Pot. Put 1.5 cups of water in the pot liner. Put the trivet on the bottom and then layer the containers. I put in the 3 small ramekins at the bottom and then the 2 silicone egg bite molds on top. Close the lid and seal. Press manual/high pressure/12minutes. Natural release for 10min then quick release. Serve and enjoy!

Choco chip m&m cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup melted unsalted butter, cooled

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup m&ms

1 cup chocolate chips semi sweet

*to make the cookies chocolate cookies just add 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)

Preheat oven to 325F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with some butter.

In a bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and melted butter with a mixer/hand whisk for about 3min. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until the mixture becomes light and creamy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix the dry ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until just blended. Add in the chocolate chips and mix. (You can also stir in the m&ms but I prefer to just top the cookies with m&ms before baking so the candy shells don’t get broken.

Refrigerate the batter for at least 1hr. I usually refrigerate it for 3 hours or overnight.

Spoon out about 1tbsp of the batter per cookie on the baking sheet and top the ball of batter with a couple of m&ms.

Bake at 325F for 7-9 minutes (depending on your oven. Mine usually takes about 7-8min.) This makes about 36 smaller cookies.

Easy chopsuey

1-2lbs chicken/pork (I just use whatever I have on hand

1 onion

Mushrooms (I used canned because that’s what I had on hand)

California mix frozen veg (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)

1 block of firm tofu

Salt, pepper, garlic powder

3tbsp oyster sauce

2 cups chicken broth (I like a lot of sauce)

1tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1tbsp water

Sauté the chopped onion for 2min until soft. Add in your meat of choice. Season meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Once meat has been browned (no need to cook through yet), add in the mushrooms and sauté for 2min. Pour the chicken broth into the pot and add in the oyster sauce. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 15min or until the meat is cooked through (my pork was sliced into bite sized pieced less than 1”). Turn heat back up to medium Add in veggies (my frozen veg needed only 7min to be cooked. I used two small bags). Once the veggies are done, turn the heat down to low and add in cornstarch water slurry. Stir everything together and add in the tofu. Stir gently and cover the pot for 3min. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Instant Pot Kakuni Pork Belly

Ingredients:

• FOR PORK BELLY
• 3 lbs pork belly sliced into 1inch pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1tsp pepper
• 1tbsp garlic powder
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and sliced
• 1tbsp lemongrass paste(I used the one in a tube found in the refrigerated section with herbs/veggies)
• 1tbsp oyster sauce
• 1tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 cups chicken/bork broth
• 2tbsp soy sauce

FOR SAUCE:

• Reserve 1/4 cup liquid from cooking pork
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2tbsp oyster sauce
• 1tbsp hoisin sauce
• 3tbsp brown sugar
• 2tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2tbsp water mixed with 1tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

• Press sauté on your instant pot. Wait for it to heat up. Add some oil about 1tbsp. Wait for the oil to get hot. Add the pork belly into the pot. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. Brown the pork belly for about 5mins stirring them up every few minutes.
• Add in the garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Keep sautéing for about 2mins until fragrant.
• Add in the chicken/pork broth with soy sauce.
• Close lid, seal, press cancel then press pressure cook (high pressure) and set the time to 30min.
• ***optional: While waiting, make some soft boiled eggs (put eggs in a pot with water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat off and cover pot for 7min then drain and put eggs in an ice bath. Once eggs are cool, peel and set aside)
• once the timer is done, press cancel, turn seal to venting and quick release.
• Set aside 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and mix into other sauce ingredients.
• Strain the pork belly.
• Mix together all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl/cup
• In a deep pan or in your instant pot, pour in the sauce mixture. Wait for it to boil. When it starts to boil, add the pork and peeled eggs into the sauce. Let it simmer for 10mins.
• Take out the eggs and pork.
• Add the water/cornstarch mixture into the sauce and stir while waiting for it to thicken (thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon)
• Put the sauce into a separate bowl. Rinse the pan/instant pot liner. If using your IP, press sauté. Add some oil and wait for the oil and pan/pot liner to heat up again.
• In batches (I did 3 batches) put the pork into the pan/pot liner and pour 1/4 cup of the sauce over the pork. Allow the pork and sauce to caramelize stirring occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the pan. Take out first batch and repeat until all pork has caramelized sauce on it. Put in a serving dish along with eggs and pour leftover sauce on top.
• Serve with rice/quinoa.

*** if there’s leftover pork belly after your meal, it makes a great topping for ramen 🙂

Fresh cherry/grape tomato marinara with mushrooms and pancetta over Instant Pot Spaghetti squash

This is something I’ve wanted to try for a while now, but I never had the chance to. I’ve tried spaghetti squash before and I really liked it. Fresh cherry/grape tomato marinara is one of my favorites as well. They go well together and half of a regular sized spaghetti squash with the marinara was super filling. I saved the other half for tomorrow 🙂 *the sauce also tasted yummy with regular spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash (cut in half, seeds removed (instant pot to cook it)
• 1 cup water
• 5 cups of fresh cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half. I’ve also tried this with roma tomatoes just slice smaller
• 1/2 cup pancetta or 6 slices of bacon chopped small
• Baby bella/crimini mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped finely
• 1tbsp butter
• 1tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken stock (I use 1tbsp better than bouillon chicken with 1 cup water)
• 1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 2 tbsp italian seasoning
• Optional: trader joe’s umami seasoning

Directions:

For the spaghetti squash, cut in half, scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Put the trivet in the instant pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Put the 2 halves of the spaghetti squash on the trivet, cut side facing up. Close the lid, seal. Pressure cook manual high for 7min then quick release when it’s done. Once it has cooled down a bit (while the sauce is cooking (uncovered part) take the cooked spaghetti squash and scrape with a fork. You can use the skin as a serving bowl also or you can just scrape the insides of the squash into a bowl/plate.

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, sauté the pancetta in a big, deep pan/pot. Once it is browned, move to the side of the pan. Put in the butter and add in the mushrooms and flour. Stir the butter, mushrooms and flour together. Season mushrooms with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once the mushrooms have been in the pan for about 2min, add in the garlic and sauté for 1min. Stir the pancetta/bacon and mushrooms together. Pour in the wine and let the alcohol cook off (mine took about 7min) until there is only half of the liquid left. Add in the sliced tomatoes and season with a little salt and pepper , italian seasoning and the trader joe’s umami seasoning if you have it. After 2 min, pour in the chicken stock. Stir then cover and simmer for 10min on low heat. Uncover and let it continue cooking for another 10minutes. Turn off heat, add parmesan and stir. Serve over the spaghetti squash or regular pasta. Top with more cheese 🙂