peanut butter cookies

this recipe is good if you don't like super-sweet cookies. it's from the food network test kitchen cookbook.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch fine salt
8 Tbs unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
granulated sugar, for rolling

whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt in a small bowl. slowly beat the butter with the brown sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until just blended. then beat on high until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, about 10 minutes. beat in the egg and peanut butter.

turn the mixer to low and beat in the flour mixture to make a smooth dough. scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

preheat the oven to 375. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. put the granulated sugar on a pie plate. using about 2 tsp per cookie, shape the dough into balls, then roll them in the sugar and space them an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. press a crosshatch on top of each cookie with the tines of a fork, flattening slightly as you do. bake, turning the pans once, until lightly browned, about 9 minutes. briefly cool the cookies on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool.

congressional chili

this comes from a cookbook called peace meals. this recipe was printed in house beautiful a while ago. we thought it was quite delicious.

1 Tbs olive oil
2 med yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 lbs ground beef, preferably sirloin
16 oz canned tomato sauce
3 Tbs prepared red mole (can be found in mexican food aisle)
3 Tbs chili powder
3 cups water
32 oz canned kidney beans
shredded cheddar cheese
diced onions
sour cream (our addition)
tortilla chips (our addition)

heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium. add the onions, peppers, and garlic. saute until the onions are translucent and the peppers begin to soften. season with salt and pepper and set aside. brown the beef in a soup pot; drain off any excess fat. add half of the sauteed onion-pepper mix to the meat. stir in the tomato sauce, mole, chili powder, and water. bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. adjust the seasoning by adding additional salt, pepper, mole, or chili powder. simmer for 30 minutes. add the beans and the remaining half of the onion-pepper mixture. cook for 15 minutes. serve topped with cheese and onions.

honey-oatmeal muffins with pecans and dried blueberries

this is from artvoice, a local paper, and it's pretty good and healthy.

2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil (i subsituted apple sauce)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup dried blueberries (i used craisins)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

preheat oven to 400.

combine the milk, vegetable oil (or applesauce), egg and honey in a medium sized bowl and mix together. in another bowl, mix together the oatmeal, flour, dried blueberries, pecans, sugar, baking powder and salt. combine the contents of both bowls together and stir until the ingredients are just combined. spoon the batter into 12 greased muffins tins. be sure to only fill the tins 2/3 full. bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick pulls out clean.