Made By Melissa

Not necessarily a recipe or even really blog worthy. However, it is the new year and everybody is on a health kick, so somebody out there might be looking for a little inspiration for a different salad. If your that someone, here you go!

My Favorite Salad

• Romain lettuce
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Craisins
• Toasted walnuts (Bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown)
• Newman’s Own Parmesan and Roasted Garlic salad dressing

Toss in a large bowl and enjoy!

This is my “go to” recipe for the best chocolate chip cookie. People are always searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but what does that  mean to you? There are those that prefer fluffy, cake type cookies, or cookies with a little crisp to them. For me, it is a dense, soft, chewy cookie and these Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies fit the bill. Another recipe, very similar to this one, is the America’s Test Kitchen Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie, which can be found over at Good Things Catered.  Or check out Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats for her take on these cookies, as well as soft cookies with pudding in the recipe.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. I bake mine on silicone baking mats sprayed with cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended (do not over-mix). Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. I refrigerate the dough for a couple hours before baking. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. I prefer smaller cookies, so I use my cookie scoop.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes (about 12 minutes if using cookie scoop size) in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Watch closely and pull out of the oven as soon as edges start to turn golden! Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container and these cookies should stay soft for a couple of days, if they last that long! If cookies do start to become hard, add a piece of bread to the container.

This recipe for chicken francaise produced a very juicy, flavorful chicken breast with a tangy lemon flavor. The recipe is from one of my favorite food sites epicurious.com. We had it with roasted red potatoes and steamed sugar snap peas.

Chicken Francaise

• 4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb total)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes)

Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound chicken with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick.Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.While oil is heating, stir together flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge 2 pieces of chicken, 1 piece at a time, in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow bowl.

When oil is hot, dip floured chicken into beaten eggs to coat, letting excess drip off, then fry, turning over once, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total (it around 8 minutes total for me). Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Fry remaining chicken in same manner.

Pour off and discard oil, then wipe skillet clean and heat butter over low heat until foam subsides. Add wine, broth, and lemon juice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 6 minutes. Stir in parsley and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and top with lemon slices.

I have wanted to try this recipe for broiled tilapia parmesan from allrecipes.com for a while, however,  Nate does not like tilapia, so it kept getting vetoed. But, we finally came to a compromise and made it with haddock. This is probably the easiest seafood dish that I have ever made and it is very good!

Broiled Tilapia (Haddock) Parmesan

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (I use light mayo)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (Only used 1 tablespoon, and it was still very lemony)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt (I didn’t have any so I used seasoned salt)
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets (I used haddock)

Preheat your oven’s broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line a pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan cheese, butter, mayo and lemon juice. Season with spices. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. I sprinkled the fillets with some Old Bay seasoning. Broil on high, a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes.

Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear Swedish meatballs, I have flashbacks to the elementary school cafeteria where a gloppy mess of meat and gravy was plopped on your tray. So when I was searching for something to do with ground beef and came across this recipe over at Elly Says Opa , I was a little skeptical. But I decided to try them since Elly has so many yummy recipes in her blog, I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I am glad I did, these meatballs are very good. I served them on rice since I didn’t have any egg noodles, but next time I think I would prefer the noodles. 

Swedish Meatballs

• 1 cup evaporated milk, divided
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• dash pepper
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 cups double strength beef broth ( I used 2 bouillon cubes in 1 ½ cups hot water)  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat a skillet and add a little olive oil. Sweat onions with a pinch of salt until translucent. Set aside to cool.Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup evaporated milk with breadcrumbs. Stir to combine and set aside for several minutes. To the breadcrumb mixture, stir in onions, yolk, salt, allspice and pepper. Add meat and mix until just combined. Shape meat mixture into 1-in. balls. In large skillet, melt butter and cook meatballs. Remove from skillet (you may want to keep in a warmed oven).

In same skillet, cook flour (add more butter if necessary) 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in beef broth and simmer to thicken. Add remaining 3/4 cup evaporated milk and heat through. Season to taste. Return meatballs to skillet, and add lemon juice.

I love Giada De Laurentis, and every recipe I have ever made by her has been delicious. This one was no exception. These pork chops are moist, tender and full of flavor.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Lemon wedges, for serving (I did not have any on hand, so did not use)
  

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

I have wanted to make Hershey’s Best Brownies for a while now, so when I had time I decided to go all out and add a creamy peanut butter frosting. I used to have a great recipe for peanut butter frosting, but unfortunately could not find it, so after some browsing I used this one from Allrecipes.com. Make sure you have a big glass of milk if you make these rich brownies!

Best Brownie

•  1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I did not use)

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan (I only baked about 18 minutes). Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

So I am jumping on the food blog bandwagon, I am very excited about this new venture and hope it is a success! This blog will start off with basic recipes that I feel confident making, but I am hoping to also take on some new challenges as well. Please feel free to leave me comments or any helpful hints you may have!