Chocolate Chip Cookies...and all about us Bennion girls :)

This is my go-to chocolate chip recipe.  It never fails.  It always works.  (That's especially saying a lot coming frome me!)  I inherited this recipe from my sister Nancy, (who I'll share a funny story about in just a second).  I would easily say her husband and boys are the world's biggest cookie carnasaurs.  She is an accomplished cook and this is easily their favorite cookie recipe. 

Right after Rhitt and I were first married, I remember we went home to Wyoming for a weekend to help my Dad and sister's family gather their cattle from off the range.  For whatever reason we all split up and I ended up with my sister's husband and she ended up with my husband.  We had all been looking for a really wild cow that day that looked a lot like the one pictured below.

Seriously.

Coincidently, Nancy and Rhitt found her but they were miles away from the rest of us and the truck/trailer; There were no fences or corrals in sight...and might I mention that this cow was ready to kill the first thing that paid the slightest attention to her...

So my sister turned to my husband, (who obviously didn't know her well at that point) and said, "Rhitt, what do you think about dragging er' back to the trailer?  I think I could throw a dally and head er' , if you wanna heel er'?" 

I remind you......Rhitt doesn't really rope cattle.  Nancy doesn't know how to rope cattle.    None of us know how to rope at all, really???
But anywho, I guess the rest of the story goes, my husband just looked at her like she was crazy...and very politely said, "You Bennion women are nuts."

So much to my sister's dismay, they didn't rope the nasty raggidy old cow that day....but my husband learned an important lesson about us Bennion girls...... That there isn't much we don't think we can't do!  And that's why I love my sisters :)

Nancy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

(makes 4 dozen)

3 cubes of butter (no margarine here my friends!)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbls vanilla
6 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups choc chips

Cream sugars, eggs, and vanilla together.  Add dry ingredients and then the chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoon full on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 365 for 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 

This recipes is great halved too (that's what I ususally do).

Godfather Spaghetti

Lately Rhitt and I have been staying up late at night watching the Godfather series....which I love by the way.  In first movie, one of Vito Corelone's men is showing the young Micheal Corelone (Al Pacino) how to make spaghetti.....that scene inspired me to share my favorite spaghetti recipe made from scratch  (well, scratch to me!)....and trust me, the small extra effort is worth it....I have officially left my Ragu days behind!

To begin take one pound of hamburger and add the bread crumbs, parsley, parmeasan cheese, black pepper, garlic powder, and egg into a large bowl.  Mix well and form into 12-13 balls (about the size of a ping pong ball).  Set aside, covered in your refrigerator until you need them.

Next, in a large saucepan over medium heat, saute your onions and garlic in olive oil until almost translucent. 

Stir in all your tomatoes, as well as your salt, sugar, and a bay leaf or two. 

Cover this mixture and and reduce heat to low-ish.  Let the sauce simmer for a good 30 minutes.  At this point its time to stir in the tomato paste, basil, garlic powder, and italian seasoning, and about 1/2 tsp of pepper. 
(You'll notice in my sauce below that I added a little zucchini....go ahead and add your favorite veggies if  you would like.)

Now...the most important part of the recipe...add the raw meatballs to the simmering sauce on medium-ish heat.  That'r right.........RAW.....I remember when I first tried this recipe I was a little leary of not cooking my meatballs before adding them to the sauce...but I was pleasantly surprised.  The meat really flavors the sauce.  So I repeat...don't pre-cook your meatballs :).  Simmer for 30 more minutes or until meatballs have cooked to a nice juicy brown color.  Be sure to stir them every once in a while so that they cook evenly.  You will not be dissapointed with this recipe!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention...this makes a HUGE batch....and believe me, the left-overs are soooooo good :) 

Do yourself a fav; go rent the Godfather with the hubs and eat spaghetti like there's no tomorrow :)

Godfather Spaghetti

Meatballs
1 pound of hamburger
1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2-3 tablespoons of grated parmeason cheese
1/4 ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

Sauce
3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced (or if your like me, you buy in the squeeze tube at wal-mart)
1/4 cup olive oil
*******this part is up to you**********
for chunky sauce you will need (my favorite):
2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes & 2 14 ounce cans of whole tomatoes

for thinner sauce you will need:
4 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

(or whatever combination of tomatoes just as long as they come out to about 56 ounces)

2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of white sugar
1-2 bay leaves
1 6ounce can of tomato paste
1 tsp of italian seasonings
1/2 tsp of basil
1 tsp garlic powder

Lots of cooked spaghetti noodles :)

Best Country Fried Steak and Gravy. Ever.

One of my all time favorite places to eat is Maddox's in Perry, UT.  I love everything at that place; especially their country fried steak.  I found this recipe from another blog (http://www.djsfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com/) and decided to give it a try.  I would easily say that this recipe is just as good as the country fried steak at Maddox's.  Plus!  If your like me and have half a freezer full of wild game meat that you never want to eat....this is a good way to use that up!

You will need:
4 cubed beef steaks (or any other kind of thinly-cut meat)
1/2 C flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 eggs
hot sauce
vegetable oil
1 1/2 to 2 C milk

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, a dash of salt and pepper, and a dash or two of hot sauce.  Set this aside:

Next in a largeskillet, heat about a 1/2 Cup vegetable oil over medium heat.  When its nice and hot, dip one steak into the egg mixture and then into the flour mixture (flour, salt, pepper, and garlic and onion powder).  Do this until each steak is well coated.  Place in skillet and cook all four steaks at once. 

Save the remaining flour mixture.  Go ahead and toss the remaining egg mixture.

Cook the steaks until golden crispy brown over medium heat.  Then turn over.  (The secret, I've learned to cooking meat is you should only turn something over once).

Remove the steaks from the pan and keep warm until serving (you can turn your oven on the lowest setting and keep them in there for a few minutes).

Now its gravy time.  If there's a ton of oil left in your skillet, drain it so that you have only 1/4 C left.
Keep the crumbs and little bits of steak left (thats the good stuff!).   Next, add your left over flour mixture to the hot oil and whisk quickly over medium heat for a minute or two until the mixture is mixed well and bubbly. 

Now...slowly add the Milk.  Maybe start with 1 1/2 C.  Whisk quickly to prevent lumps. Stir and cook over medium heat until you have reached the right consistancy.  If too thick add more milk.  Also, I like to add a little more salt and pepper here and dash or two more of hot sauce. 

This meal goes well with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies! Enjoy!

Evil Chicken & a bittersweet weekend for the Hamiltons...

Hands down I am one of the biggest animal lovers you will ever meet.  Growing up I had countless pets, each special in their own way.  Living on ranch however, you soon learn that ranch pets have the happiest dispositions and shortest life-spans.  I was reminded of that last night, as our sweet little cow-dog, Abby passed away.  She was an amazing dog with the funniest personality....until that point Rhitt and I had a great weekend up in the Hills.  We spent our time rounding up our older bulls and bringing them home.  I'm going to miss Abby (pictured below), she will be hard to replace.  I'm just greatful she got to be our special cow dog for the four short years she lived.  Thanks again Abs.

So after a post like that...I still hope your in the mood to eat...

I got this recipe from one of my co-workers.  I really like it for these reasons:

1) Its easy (a must in 90% of my recipes)

2) It reminds me a lot of the indian restaurant I lived across from when I was at Utah State...

3) It's name......."Evil Chicken?"

4) Bacon....need I say more?

To begin; cut up appr. 1 lb of bacon into 1 inch pieces or less and fry them like so:



Once your bacon has cooked to "most chewy, yet slightly crunchy", remove heat and set aside in a bowl with paper towels, removing as much grease as possible.

This next step is important!  With the same pan, remove 95% of the bacon grease and return to heat.  Add appr. 2 lbs of bite-sized raw chicken. It's important to remove most of the bacon grease, as this flavor can overwhelm the dish if you leave too much!
Season your chicken with kosher salt and fresh pepper.

It's here I like to have a little fun: I added a few mushrooms to saute with the chicken. (Loved the mushrooms!!!)

Next, turn down the heat slightly and add the following:
All of your bacon that you set aside earlier
1 cup of Brown Sugar
3 1/2 Tbs of Chili powder

Make sure the meat mixture is evenly coated before your add 1/2 cup of water and 1-2 Tbs of cornstarch (this makes it saucey!) 

Let the mixture simmer to thicken the sauce, while stirring to prevent burning....and wa-la!  Serve over cooked rice.  It is de-lish!

Evil Chicken

1 lb of cooked bite-sized bacon

2 lb of chicken, cut into pieces

8 oz mushrooms (optional)

3 1/2 Tbs of Chili Powder

1 C. brown sugar

1/2 - 1 C water

1-2 Tbs cornstarch

2 Cups of cooked white rice