Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I always make chocolate chip cookies around Christmas time. With different variety of toppings, like peppermint m&m's, different kind of nuts and all sorts f Christmasy things. 

Some time ago I got this idea in my head, what if I make Autumn chocolate chip cookies? And the first thing that came to my mind was PEANUT BUTTER!

So I searched the web and found a few recipes, and chose the one that is very similar to the cookies I usually make.

So here is how you make them:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

We will need to mix together 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter  and  1/2 cup softened butter, until very creamy and there are no lumps. I used a stand  mixer to do so, but you can definitely use handheld mixer or even do it with a wooden spoon.

Then add 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar (packed), 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well with butters until creamy, on medium speed for about 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, using a whisk mix 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add to the creamed mixture and mix well again until you get a thick dough.

Then add 1 cup of chocolate chips of your choice (I used 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips) and fold it in with a spatula.

Place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets.

Using a spoon, place 6 balls of dough on each sheet and slightly form a tidier ball with your hands. (The dough is quite thick so the chocolate chips fall out of it when you spoon them on the sheet, using your hands, sort of press them back into the dough).

Now bake for 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake them, since they still need to be chewy inside

.

Take out of the oven and leave for 10 minutes to cool on the baking sheet.

Then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely

This is a pretty easy recipe but so perfect for those chilly fall evenings to enjoy with a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea.

Vietnamese Stir-fried Rice Flake Noodle with Satay Beef

Ingredients:
8 oz rice flake noodle, cooked as directed on a package (or any other Rice Noodles)
1 lb thinly sliced steak, cut in to 1 inch pieces
1 cup pineapple chunks  + 2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 large onion, cut in to 1 inch chunks
6 oz bean sprouts
1 1/2 tbsp ginger, grated
1 1/2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Optional*: 1 tbsp roasted peanuts, finely chopped (amount for each serving)

Marinade:
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp rice cooking wine

The Sauce:
3 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
5 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp dark thick soy sauce
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine)


Marinade:
Mix well all the marinade ingredients, make sure there is no clumps from the flour.
Coat the meat well with marinade.
Set aside for 30 minutes in a room temperature, or for 2 hours in a fridge.


The sauce: 
Mix well all the sauce ingredients, and set aside.



Over medium-high heat, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok.
Add the marinaded meat and lay flat, cook for about 2 minutes.
Flip to the other side and cook for 2 more minutes, take out the meat and set it aside.

In the same wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat.
Add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.
Then add the pineapple(without the juice), and cook for another 3 minutes, mixing constantly so that the onion doesn't burn.
Add the noodles, sauce, pineapple juice, mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Add more water if the sauce is too thick.
Lastly add the meat and bean sprouts, mix and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Serve with some hot sauce(Sriracha Sauce or Tabasco Pepper Sauce) and peanuts.
ENJOY!

Easy Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup Milk, lukewarm
2-2 1/2 cup Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
2/3 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoon Canola Oil
1 1/2 teaspoon Dry Yeast
1 Egg, beaten


Mix together Milk, Sugar, Salt and Canola oil.
Whisk well to dissolve sugar and salt.
Then add the first (1) cup of flour and whisk.
Now add half (1/2) of cup of flour and yeast, stir until the dough is smooth and without any clumps.
Continue to add rest of the flour and knead a soft but firm dough.
Rolled up into a ball, place in to a deep bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or paper towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.
After 30 minutes of rising, knead the dough a little and leave the same way as the first time, for another 30 minutes.
Then knead the dough some more, and using a rolling pin roll it out into a rectangle shape.
Picking up the long edge, roll the rectangle, forming a tube. Pinch the seam to secure the dough.
Using a sharp knife make cuts across the bread, 1-1 1/2 inch apart.
Brush the bread well, with the beaten egg.
Cover with a towel of your choice, and let it stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden crust.
To check if the bread is done, pierce it with a toothpick. The toothpick has to come out dry, if there is crumbs left on it, bake the bread a little more.
To cool baked bread, place it on a wooden cutting board, and cool at room temperature.
To store cooled bread, place it in a special bread box, or leave it on the wooden cutting board and cover with a glass or ceramic dish for first 2 days after baking, after 2 days keep in a plastic bag in a fridge.

Russian Pelmeni (Meat Ravioli) Пельмени

Ingredients: 
For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
2/3 cups cold water
1 tbsp salt

For the filling:
1 lb any ground meat (you can mix different types of meat too)
1 onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch parsley if desired 


For the Dough:
Place flour on a work surface (if you have never done this before, place flour in a large bowl). At the top make a grove with your fingers.
Beat an egg in it, add 1 tbsp of salt and a little bit of water.
Start kneading the dough, pushing the bottom flour on top of water. As you work along the dough will stick to fingers, just take the dough off the fingers and keep kneading for about 5 minutes. Keep adding water little by little, you don't want to add too much water or else the dough will be too soft and sticky.
Place the dough on a flat surface and  knead until it is smooth and is not too soft. All together kneading will take about 10-15 minutes. In the end it shouldn't stick to hands.
Place the dough in a bowl and cover with paper towel and leave for 20 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the filling:
Place meat in the bowl and break it apart with a spoon. Chop the onion really well or run it through in a food processor ( food processor will give it the correct consistency).
Add onion, salt, pepper and mix well.
You can also add some parsley or any other herb, but chop it well or run it in a food processor with the onion.


Place wax paper on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with some flour.
Place some flour on a work surface and knead the dough a little to soften it.
Cut 1/4 of a dough, knead it some more and roll it in to a ball.
Roll the dough in to a very thin sheet, about 1/8 inch thin.
Take a cup or a glass, flip it and dip in the flour, cut circles out of the dough. If the dough starts sticking to the cup keep dipping it in the dough.
Collect the left out dough and knead it back in to the rest of the dough.
Place one of the dough circle in your hand, add half of teaspoon of filling, bend the dough in half to cover the filling, pinch the edges together to close the filling. Than bring 2 corners together and seal them.
Place on a cookie sheet. Continue with the rest of the dough and filling.
When you're done you can cook the Pelmeni right away by dropping them in a boiling salted water, bring to a boil again and cook for 10-20 minutes depending on the size of your Pelmeni.
Take them out, place in a bowl and add 1 tbsp of butter, mix to cover the Pelmeni with butter.
Or you can place the cookie sheet with Pelmeni in a freezer over night, than store in a zip-lock bag for about a month.

Serve with sour cream, mayo or any sauce you like.
Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan (Pollo Parmigiana)

Ingredients: 
6 chicken cutlets
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Instructions:
In a bowl combine bread crumbs, oregano, nutmeg, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp of Parmesan.
In a second bowl beat the eggs and in to the third bowl add flour .
Tenderize the chicken, but not too much. Or else it will be dry.
Dredge the chicken in flour, than dip in the egg and cover in bread crumb-spice mixture.
Over medium heat, preheat olive oil in a large skillet.
Fry the chicken, until golden for 4-5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook  for about 5-6 minutes over  medium-low heat, covered with a lid until the chicken is cooked.
Take the chicken out of the skillet and place on plate covered with a paper towel.
Spray or brush baking pan with olive oil, spread 4 tbsp of marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Place chicken on top, spread the rest of the sauce on top, sprinkle with Parmesan and top with Mozzarella cheese.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melted and sauce started to bubble.
Serve with pasta of your choice.
Enjoy!

Crab Fried Rice

Ingredients:

4 oz cooked crab meat

2 cups cooked jasmine rice

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp canola oil

3 bunches of scallions

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions:

Dice the garlic. Chop scallions into 1/2 inch pieces.

In the skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat.

Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. (Don't burn the garlic, it's going to give bitter taste)

Add one lightly beaten egg to the garlic and quickly scramble up.

Mix in the rice with egg and cook stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes.

Pour soy sauce on top, add pinch of sugar, salt and pepper, mix and cook for another minute. (Make sure you don't put too much salt, because the soy sauce is already salty!)

Add chopped scallions with crab meat, mix everything together.

Pour the second egg on top and mix well until the egg spreads evenly and cooks through.

Enjoy!

Western Beef Chili

Ingredients: 

1.5 pounds ground beef
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced (reserve 3 tbsp of onions for garnish)
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 quart beef broth
1 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1 tsp oregano leaves
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin, ground

3 tbsp chili powder
1 cup stewed tomatoes
1 cup beans

1 tbsp sugar

Shredded cheese

1. Heat oil over medium heat and brown meat, breaking up any large chunks.

2. Add onion and garlic. Cook until soft. Add salt and pepper.
3. Add tomato paste and mix well with beef. Add beef broth and bring to a boil.
4. Add oregano, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin and chili powder, simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add beans and stewed tomatoes. Try and add sugar if needed. Cook for one minute.
6. Top with shredded cheese, chopped onion. Also served with jalapeno pepper and spoon of sour cream on top. Enjoy!

Ukrainian Borscht (Український борщ)

Borscht is the most important soup in Ukrainian culture, known around the whole world. So if you want to find out a real Ukrainian Borscht recipe from a real Ukrainian, you're on a correct page.

Ingredients:

For the broth:

6 pints water

1 pound beef on the bone

1 onion, cut in half

1 carrot, cut in half

Salt to taste

10 whole black peppers

For borscht:

2 bay leaves

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

Half of beet, shredded

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tomato, peeled and shredded

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 potatoes, cut in cubes

Half of regular cabbage, chopped thinly

1 tsp sugar

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp parsley, chopped

1. In a large pot, bring water to boil. As soon as water starts to boil, add beef, onion and carrot. When starts to boil again add salt and 3 black peppers, simmer for 5 minutes. 

2. Take out onion and carrots. Add bay leave and potatoes. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile the broth is simmering, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil, onion and carrot, cook until browned a bit. 

4. Add tomato paste and shredded tomato, mix well. Cook until tomato thickens a little.

5. Take out a cup of broth from the pot and add to the skillet with onions and carrots, simmer for 2 minutes.

6. Add beet and cook until soft.

7. Add "beet mixture" to the pot with broth and potatoes. 

8. Throw in the remaining black peppers and cabbage.

9. Season with sugar and cook until the cabbage is soft.

10. Press the garlic and garnish with parsley. 

11. Let borscht sit for about an hour before serving. Serve with sour cream.

Chinese General Tso Chicken

Easy and Delicious! 

I got this recipe from "Cooking Channel", made by Ching-He Huang, Ching's Everyday Easy Chinese, but changed it around a bit to my own taste.

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken, cut into bit size pieces

1 tbsp cornstarch

Salt and pepper

Sweet sauce:

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp Sriracha

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp black bean sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, left whole and crushed

1 tbsp rice wine

3 whole dried chilli peppers

2 scallions, chopped

1. In a bowl mix chicken, salt, pepper and corn starch. Set aside.

2. In separate bowl mix together chicken stock, Sriracha, ketchup, soy sauce, rice vinegar, black bean sauce, honey.

3. Heat wok over high heat. Add oil, garlic and chicken. Cook for 2 mins until starts to brown a bit.

4. Add rice wine and dried chillies, stir and cook for another minute.

5. Add the sweet sauce and cook for 5 mins.

6. Cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced and became thicker.

7. Stir in scallions and cook for another minute. Serve with rice.

Russian Napoleon Cake with Strawberries (Наполеон с Клубникой)

This is a very delicious recipe, perfect for valentines day or just a special occasion. 

Ingredients:
6 squares puff pastry dough (5in x 5in)
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 strawberries

Serves 2


1. Spray baking sheet with oil. Spread dough on a sheet, brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with some sugar. Bake at 350F oven for 15-20 minutes.
2. In the mean time, beat heavy cream with powdered sugar until smooth and thick.


3. Slice the strawberries.

4. Cool dough completely.











5. Spread the whipped cream on first piece of dough, lay out strawberries, cover with another piece of dough, continue the same with whipped cream and strawberries. Use 3 pieces of dough on each cake.

Southern Beef Stew with Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 lb beef, cut in 1/2 in squares
8 oz baby portabella  mushrooms, used whole, if some are too big than cut in half
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
1/2 soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves



1. Cut the meat in bite size pieces.
2. Dredge the meat in 2 tbsp flour, cover completely.
3. In a thick pot melt butter and olive oil over high heat. Add meat and cook until browned. Set aside.
4. Chop onion, and dice the garlic. In the same pot, not adding any more oil, cook onions and garlic over medium heat.
5. When onions start to brown add mushrooms, cook until golden.
6. In a mean time, over medium heat bring to boil beef broth, red wine, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Boil for 2 minutes.
7. Add broth-wine mixture and meat to mushrooms, salt and pepper and simmer for 3 minutes.
8. In a cup, mix 2 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp water. Add to the stew and mix well.
9. Season with oregano and thyme. Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes.

Pasta with Shrimp and Green Peas

This dish is delicious and easy! 

7 oz pasta of your choice, cooked (do not drain the water from pasta, you will need it later)

8 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 

1 onion, roughly chopped

3 oz peas, defrosted 

6 peeled plum tomatoes, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely diced

1 tsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions, salt and pepper to taste, when onions are soft, add garlic. Cook until golden. Set aside.

2. In the same skillet, melt butter over high heat, when butter starts to sizzle add shrimp and cook for 1 min on each side until pink in color, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

3. Cook peas for 2 mins, until heated through and hot inside. Set aside.

4. Over medium heat, cook the tomatoes until thickens a little, salt and pepper. Add onions, shrimp and peas to the tomatoes, cook for 1 min. Add pasta, and 2/3 cup of pasta water ( if needed add some more, you do so to add creaminess to the dish). 

5. Serve with shredded Parmesan on top.