Chocolate-y Good!

I have a weakness for chocolate. I love it. I crave it. I EAT it. And even though I lost 20 pounds last year and have kept all 20 pounds OFF ... I NEED chocolate! About a year ago, Mr. Jones found a really good recipe on the internet for something called a "double chocolate chip breakfast cookie." A breakfast cookie?! I thought he was joking ... but if you know anything at all about Mr. Jones, you would know that he really really likes desserts ... AND isn't at all above eating a piece of pie for breakfast! What's extra nice about this recipe is that it does have some really healthy ingredients in it ... honest!
Double Chocolate Breakfast Cookies ~ Makes 36 servings
Prep time: 25 minutes

I N G R E D I E N T S
In a large mixing bowl, cream together ~
1/2 Cup of olive oil
1 Cup brown sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (optional)
1/4 Cup PLUS 2 tablespoons of skim milk

In a separate bowl, mix ~
1-1/2 Cups of whole grain flour
1/2 Cup of wheat bran
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa
1 Cup dark chocolate chips
1 Cup chopped walnuts

D I R E C T I O N S:
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have greased cookie sheet ready.
(2) Cream together oil, brown sugar, egg, extracts and milk
(3) Blend in the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips and nuts
(4) Add chocolate chips and nuts last
(5) Drop generous teaspoons full about 2 inches apart on the prepared greased cookie sheet.
(6) Bake at 350 degrees for about 9.5 minutes ... not longer than 10!

Cool on a wire rack and then store in an air-tight container, with wax paper separating each layer of cookies (to prevent them all sticking together)

T I P S :

(1) This cookie dough is kind of sticky/gooey/icky/thick ... but as the cookies bake, they do spread out, so don't place them too closely together on the tray ... and remember to GREASE each tray.
(2) DO NOT OVERBAKE these cookies! Our recipe calls for 10-12 minutes, but I take them out at about 9.5 minutes. If I bake them longer, they tend to be too dry. Remove them right away from the cookie tray. They will appear to be very soft and almost NOT done ... but they are! They firm up as they cool.
(3) You can find wheat bran in most grocery stores in the regular baking aisle ... but if you can't find it, be sure to ask a worker for help.

(4) These are especially delicious when fresh out of the oven ... mmm ... warm, with a half glass of milk. But I actually have one every morning after breakfast with the remainder of the milk from my cereal bowl.

N U T R I E N T S :
Protein 2g
Carbohydrate, by difference 14 g
Total dietary fiber 2g
Calcium 15 mg
Iron 1 mg
Cholesterol 0 mg
Fatty acids, total saturated 1g
Total sugars 3g

These cookies have been great for me ~ I limit myself to TWO per day ~ they satisfy my craving for chocolate, plus they have the added fibre benefit which keeps my somewhat delicate digestive system very regular! We have tried this recipe out with the Rauch and the Jones grandchildren. They liked them and ate them right up, not even realizing these cookies were somewhat healthy to eat! Try it, I think you will like it!

Mmmm ... a quick and delicious dinner!

I readily admit I am not a good cook. I just don't have that special sense for it! But if I have a good recipe, I can deliver a good dinner!
Last week, Mr. Jones picked up some frozen haddock fillets, four packages of them ~ on sale of course. Since I LOVE fish, I decided to thumb through my cookbooks and see if I could find a decent recipe to try. I found a simple-looking recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookbook called, Pecan-Crusted Fish Fillets. I hope it's okay with Betty if I share the recipe with you ... it's really easy and very tasty!

Pecan-Crusted Fish Fillets (serves 4)
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 pound fish: sole, orange roughy, walleye pike or
other delicate fish fillets, about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Mix pecans, bread crumbs and lemon peel in shallow bowl. Beat egg and milk with wire whisk or fork in another shallow bowl.
2. Cut fish into small serving pieces. Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Coat fish with egg mixture, then coat well with pecan mixture, pressing slightly into fish.
3. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add fish. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 6 to 10 minutes, turning once carefully, until fish flakes easily with fork and is brown.

Tonight was the second time I used this recipe. Last week when I tried it, we didn't have any fresh lemon to grate. However, I think the lemon part is completely optional and I actually prefer it without. Mr. Jones disagrees and said it was much more tasty tonight WITH the lemon.

I started fixing dinner tonight at 4:15 and at 5:15 we sat down to eat. I served the fish on top of a heaping mound of brown rice, lemon wedges on the side, as well as some veggies and fruit. Not at all fussy, but a very enjoyable meal!

My Aunt Jan's Nameless Peanut Butter Bars

A few weeks ago when I phoned my aunt Jan, requesting some of my Grandma Mary's cookie recipes, she also gave me one of her own favorite bar recipes to try. It sounded so easy and SO delicious, and I knew Mr. Jones would love it (because he loves peanut butter). I made several batches of these during the weeks of Christmas and even sent some off to Jesse in Iraq. I thought I would share the recipe with you so that you could get fat along with the rest of us ...

The bottom:
2 sticks of butter (no substitutes), melted
12 ounces of creamy peanut butter (1-1/2 cups)
4-1/2 cups of powdered sugar

The topping:
1 stick of butter (no substitutes), melted
1 pkg of chocolate chips (or a combination of several kinds of chips)

This is a completely no-bake recipe and very simply made ~ the very best kind for challenged cooks!

Melt two sticks of butter in the microwave for 2-3 minutes on power 2. I usually put mine in a deep mixing bowl, cover it with waxed paper or even the paper the butter was wrapped in so that it doesn't splatter all over my microwave. Then add the 12 ounces of creamy peanut butter until it is all mixed together. Gradually add to that the 4-1/2 cups of powdered sugar. It seems like it will never mix together, but it finally does! Spread this evenly in a 9 x 13 pan.

For the topping, melt another stick of butter ~ make sure it is completely melted and nice and hot, and then stir into it a package of chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate or white chocolate or any combination) until it is all melted together. Pour this on top of your peanut butter bottom and put it in a cool place to set for 3-4 hours. When it has set up, you can cut it into nice small pieces because it is SO rich and SO yummy that you really don't need a big piece. I'll tell you something ~ I made a ton of Christmas cookies this year, but this not-very-pretty one was everyone's favorite!

I hope you enjoy it as much as all of us did at our house ~ and I don't really hope you get fat, I was just teasing ...