Apples. Cookies. Amazing.

Apples, as most people are probably thinking, seem unusual in a cookie. However, they appear to caramelize and compliment the added sugar, dashes of cinnamon. Depending on how each of us like our cookies, I think if it’s a little soft but also crunchy –it’s perfect. Then, on a big eventful night, impress your friends even more when you place the cookies on blobs of ice-cream. Or if on a special day, treat the kids with a cookie and oatmeal for breakfast. Yummy! Trust me, everyone is going to love these!

Gooey Apple Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup shortening (or butter)

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ ground nutmeg

1 cup apples peeled, cored, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Beat the shortening, brown sugar and egg together until smooth in a large bowl. Next, stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. After preparing the apples, add to the mixture and stir together.

Place about 1 tablespoon worth of mixture onto a baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes depending on texture preference.

Enjoy!

Pasta, Smasta!

One of the worst days in the kitchen is probably when dinner time hits. It isn’t any dinner night either. Not only do I not know what I have planned to make but I really don’t have the energy to cook. And anything worse than that is when the people around you figured it out and ask, "What do you mean you don't feel like cooking?" They either ask because it’s your kids, guests or just prefer you’re cooking (whether that’s because it tastes great or don’t have the energy to make it themselves). What are you going to do, now?

We shouldn’t feel too guilty, I suppose. I bet everyone even the most famous chefs, cooks and teachers sometimes prefer to go out and eat than figure out what to make. Mainly, I think the reason is to get out of the routine. Cook every day in and out.
Well today, I want out.

However, with all that said this is not about another restaurant or tweaked recipe. I tried to conjure a meal when really sought to eat dishes someone else had made.  


Well after making a few rounds up and down the grocery store isles, I came up with an easy recipe, pasta. Besides cereal, toast and even pancakes, pasta is very easy. All I needed was shrimp because I already had linguini at home. Yay!
After settling for pre-packaged shrimp since I couldn’t find any fresh, I made my way home. Pasta itself doesn’t take that long, so I spent most of it on the shrimp. I added a few tablespoons of olive oil with minced garlic cloves in the warmed up pan. Next, I squeezed the juice from one lemon and some zest into the pan along with the shrimp. And for seasoning, crushed pepper and sprinkled salt with basil and parsley. The sauce pan was making some really sweet mixtures of spicy and sweet smells.
All seemed to be going well, so I started the pasta while I simmered the shrimp for one or two more minutes. I didn't go anywhere but cleaned up while I went along. Then when I checked the pasta something seemed wrong. It was mushy and the water…foggy.

Yep, I over-cooked the pasta. By this time the shrimp had been perfect and ready to serve so I knew I needed to move the sauce pan off from the burner. When I got ready a new batch of pasta, I was already flustered. I hated over cooking pasta and had never done it this “well.”

I finished making the new batch of pasta then strained and poured into two plates.

The shrimp and lemon sauce was still sitting in the pan next to the burner it had been on five minutes ago. I knew right then that because the shrimp was still in a hot pan it too had been cooked too long. Handed one plate to my boyfriend, I took the other and sat down. I waited for a few seconds to see if I would get any reaction. “Honey, this is good! This is amazing.” He said.

I know he could tell that the shrimp was over cooked. He was the over-cooked king (if there ever could be one).

What a trooper though!

One wasted box of pasta and over-cooked shrimp. Remind me not to cook when I just don’t feel like it. I’d hate to have burned the cereal or fried the pancakes instead of cooked them.