The most requested cookie in my arsenal...

Yes, these cookies do look a bit green for those that have never had a pistachio chocolate chip cookie!  Lots of friends keep asking me for this recipe and I'm finally posting it :)

These cookies have been in my recipe file for quite awhile, ever since a friend made them over 6 or 7 years ago (I just know I've had the recipe typed up for five years according to my computer!).  Renee started a trend for herself the first time she made them and is usually making them for any party she attends.  Once I got the recipe and started making them, my brother requests a batch as part of his Christmas present every year.  Other friends recently admitted that these are one of their favorites too...

So here's my version of the recipe since I've tweaked it a bit over the years...  There is one simple substitution that you can make too as I know not everyone has buttermilk powder in their fridge (hey, it's a great alternative to buying milk when you usually don't finish a container before it goes bad!  Works really well for soda bread too and keeps longer.  Single cans can be found at grocery stores)

One very important note - do NOT use an electric mixer when mixing this recipe.  Mix these by hand for the best results, the cookies will be softer.  Also, do not refrigerate this dough before baking since the best results happen with fresh dough.

Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the Kitchen of Renee Tataryn
Ingredients:
3 ¼ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons buttermilk powder (like this one)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons water                                                                              
1 small package instant pistachio pudding
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 ounces chocolate chips (5 of milk chocolate and 5 of semi-sweet)

NOTE:  HAND MIX!!!

Directions:
1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.      Whisk flour, powder, buttermilk powder and salt together.  Set aside.
3.      Beat butter and sugar until well blended
4.      Add eggs, water and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture, blend until creamy.
5.      Add flour and pudding to the butter mixture.  Mix until stiff.
6.      Add chocolate chips
7.      Make dough into teaspoon sized balls and place 1 ½” apart on a cookie sheet.
8.      Bake 10-12 minutes until they get a slight tinge of brown or appear to be just about done on top.
9.      Sprinkle with powdered sugar once cool, if desired

Substitution:  You can substitute milk for the buttermilk powder and water.  Just skip the buttermilk powder and substitute milk (skim, 2% whatever you prefer) for the water.

Enjoy!

A little more Hope

A couple of people have stumbled by my blog in the time since I started it and have done very little with it.  There really wasn't much of a purpose behind it and I couldn't really figure out what I wanted to be saying.  Random posting took place every so often and I kept wanting to write these insightful posts or beautifully documented recipes, but it wasn't happening...

Then as I was doing my Christmas baking and planning out this glamorous cookie post, I realized that the little things that are important are the things that keep getting forgotten.  Those are the things that I love.  Little moments add up to the big moments and are always working to shape our lives as we keep living.  Truth be told, I bake in the middle of the night most of the time and never seem to take pictures.  Sure, I could have taken pictures the day after Christmas when it was beautifully bright out (not normal in the Chicagoland area at the end of December!) but I had day after Christmas shopping to do so I could get ready to meet this little munchkin and spend time with her older brother and sisters and parents.  It was a short trip to Nashville, but so very worth it!  She's going to be so big the next time that I see her!

The cookie post will be coming shortly in several chuncks as I re-bake some and just post the recipes to others.  All the cookies were wonderful including my first ever batch of french macaroons, but it was time to enjoy the little, very important ones in life.  Isn't she absolutely precious?  Auntie Jen loves you and thinks the world is so much better off for having you here little Hope!  (And I know your mama is enjoying the fact that it is easier to breathe again, because after all, it's the little things!)



The blessings that add up...

It's after three in the morning and I'm wide awake baking for Christmas - a time of family and traditions that root themselves deep in your heart.  This year brings some new ones for me.  It's the first year of family traditions with my fiancee's family and the splitting of the holiday is still a new phenomenon in my life.  It's also the first year without either of my dad's parents since Grandpa passed away in April.
I miss him and Grandma tremendously.  There was always the gathering of the O side of the family on Christmas Eve with tons of people (that would just be my dad, a few of his siblings, thier spouses, kids and us), appetizers and cookies aplenty.  Christmas Day would be the H side of the family - a smaller gathering since my mom only had one sister.  I grew up cooking and baking with the influence of my Grandmas.  I remember always being in the kitchen with them.

As a result, I'm known as a cook and a baker, but primarily the baker at Christmas time.  I'm in charge of any and all baked goods.  There are the requested varieties and the new recipes being tried.  Some are gluten-free and sugar-free, all are butter and egg filled, some are naturally sugar free (yes, it's possible!), but all are baked with love.

Family and friends all look at the number of cookies, but to me it's a lot of work that is completely worth it because to me cooking and baking have always been synomonous with love.  It's a simple thing that relaxes me and gives me a chance to provide something wonderful to those I love.

One of the best Christmas gifts I just recieved came via a conversation on Facebook with a cousin that lives in Alaska!  I now have Grandma H's recipes for Zucchini Bread and Pumpkin Bread!  Next baking project is de-glutenify it for her daughters :)  (Thankfully, Grandma is still with us but she hasn't baked in years and her kitchen was damaged due to a burst pipe so we don't know what happened to some of the recipes...)

Thank you so much Melinda!

Intentions and Chicken Salad...

I love the idea of blogging and reading all the blogs out there! I love anything kitchen related (well, duh... you are posting recipes here...) and always have the best of intentions to post the new recipes up here... If only I could remember to take pictures of the things I make too so you can actually see what I'm talking about when I post something...

So many intentions, so little time! Life is crazy and exciting at the moment! There is curriculum to rewrite, grad school classes coming up (not so thrilled about sitting still, but oh well), an apartment to clean and organize as well as a move to make... The new place has more natural light so hopefully taking pictures of food will be a bit easier and less of a daunting task leading to more regular posts...

One of the best things about this crazy life of mine are the people that I get to spend time with! A few girlfriends and I will occasionally go to a place called Scrap Inn in Rockford, IL where we get to spend the whole weekend scrapbooking and crafting :) It's the best way to unwind and just get lost in the memories again while getting some girl time in. They provide all your meals and places to work on one's various projects, bed and breakfast style, so no work like that while you are there! If you are near that area and want to check it out - the website is http://www.scrapinn.com/

One of the best things that they serve while you are there is the Scrap Inn Chicken Salad which is this amazing dish and light on the mayo (I am not the biggest fan of the stuff). I'm not going to post the recipe here since I don't have permission to do so, but I am going to post one that it inspired!

It's another Chicken Salad recipe that is light on the mayo, but has so much flavor! If you are a die-hard mayo fan - you aren't even going to miss it! It's perfect for outdoor concerts etc served on bread, lettuce or tortillas. One friend likes to spread Trader Joe's Honey Goat Cheese (a new favorite of mine!) on the tortillas then add the chicken salad, another likes to eat it with tortilla chips - the possibilities are endless...

BBQ Chicken Salad

serves about 8-10 hungry adults

2.5-3 pounds cooked and diced chicken breast (I use a NuWave oven to roast it, but grilling, baking etc works)

6-8 green onions, chopped

1 can corn kernels, drained (I use the sweet white)

1 can black beans, drained

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped (I use a black pepper bacon and cook it in whole slices first)

5-6 stalks of celery, diced

1/2 cup light mayo (don't go for the olive oil stuff)

1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)

salt and pepper to taste if you would like

Combine the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl (just stir it all together gently) and set aside. In a smaller bowl, combine the last three ingredients and stir well. Then add the dressing to the larger bowl and mix gently. Once all is mixed together, chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

The craziness of life and its blessings

2010 was a year of ups and downs, but the ups outweighed the downs. I do wish friends and family didn't have to deal with health problems, nobody had to deal with disappointment or stress, I could figure out the whole organization/non-procrastination thing and that friends didn't have to move - but still the ups are numerous!

New little ones to love, goals accomplished, more friends to enjoy, the knowledge that there is really someone out there for everyone (including me!), realizing that strength is learned and earned, rediscovering old loves of all types.

Dreams of losing weight and gaining a Kitchen Aid mixer were realized. I ran my first 5K and then 10K. Ventured even further into discovering new foods (of course now maintaining that weight loss is getting more challenging!) and cooking with others I had only tasted.

I keep thinking about 2010 and thinking about how lucky I really am! I have my health (and that's a bit better now even), a job I love (most of the time), a roof over my head, a car to get me to see those that I miss (even if it is on its last legs!), love and a wealth of family and friends that help me get through the ups and downs of life.

2011 looks like it's going to be an interesting year and I can't wait! There are trips planned to Indianapolis, Washington (IL), Nashville, Michigan, Scrap Inn (or scrapbook camp as someone calls it!) and St. Louis just to name a few... Friends planning weddings and having babies while other's babies grow up. More dishes to try and ;the weight goal to be maintained. Got a presidency of an almost all-male organization to deal with and more Speech Coaching to do... Time with a certain guy, family and friends, trips to the city, a move to make, stuff to get rid of and organize what is staying...

I love my life!

Now, I do want to make a few resolutions and post them here so that I have a bit of accountability...
1. Maintain that weight loss!
2. Run more (maybe even a 15K or half-marathon)
3. Get rid of more stuff!
4. Keep spending time with those that I love
5. Work on anti-procrastination techniques
6. Keep getting myself in better shape financially and save up for that car down payment

Let's see how I do!